


All You Need Is Love

by A_Zap



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Beatles Music, Boston Marathon bombing mention, Human Names Used, M/M, Other nations appear too, Some chapters connected, Some implications of what goes on in the bedroom, Swearing, The Beatles - Freeform, USUK - Freeform, one shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-02
Updated: 2013-09-10
Packaged: 2019-02-09 01:11:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 22,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12876990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Zap/pseuds/A_Zap
Summary: "The Beatles work with everything!" Alfred reaches an epiphany about Beatles music and tries to prove it to Arthur. Life and love according to the Beatles.





	1. All You Need Is Love

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written between March 2, 2013 and Sept. 10, 2013.

Arthur looked up from his paperwork at the sound of someone singing. The song continued while he recognized the tune. _Ah…_ All You Need Is Love _by the Beatles… Nice taste._ He thought. He went to go back to his paperwork.

The sound of the song got louder as the person singing got closer.

_Wait a minute…_ Arthur looked up once again. _I recognize that voice._

"Iggy!" Alfred burst through the door into Arthur's office.

"My name is Arthur, you bloody git." Arthur frowned, but it was said with a measure of affection. He secretly loved the nicknames that his boyfriend, the personification of the United States of America, had given him. Still, he had to maintain his reputation.

"Fine, I'll call you Artie then! Jeez!" Alfred rolled his eyes. A grin lit up his face. "Anyway, Artie, I totally had an epiphany while listening to this!" He waved his iPod Touch in Arthur's face.

"I can see it. You don't have to shove it in my bloody face." Arthur shoved Alfred's hand away from his face. "What's so bloody important about your iPod?"

"Ha Ha! Don't be stupid, Artie!" Alfred laughed his "heroic" laugh.

Arthur's frown deepened. He glared at Alfred. "I do not think _you_ should be talking about stupidity with the way you act."

A glint lit up in Alfred's eye that was intelligent and as hard as flint. "Ah, but you know that it's just an act, right Iggy? After all, 'the wise man plays the fool.'"

Arthur gulped. He was one of the people in the world besides Alfred's brother, Francis, and Ivan who knew exactly how intelligent Alfred was. Alfred really was very smart, after all, how else would he have won all of those wars otherwise. Still, he preferred to act like an idiot. Even Arthur did not know why exactly he choose to act like that, but…

He had to admit that when Alfred did show exactly how smart he was, it made him very hot and bothered.

"Anyway," Alfred's eyes went back to normal, "that's beside the point!"

Arthur regained control of himself. He frowned at his partner. "Then what is the point?"

"It's not about the iPod. It's about what's on the iPod." Alfred rolled his eyes again. "Didn't you hear me when I came in?"

"The Beatles or _All You Need Is Love_?" Arthur couldn't see how either of those could cause an epiphany.

"Both!" Alfred seemed to get really excited. "Seriously, it's been a while since I've listened to them, so first I got out my old albums and then I decided to just download them all on my iPod. I've got to admit, they were one of the best bands that came from your place."

Arthur tried to hide the smile that was creeping onto his face at Alfred's flattery. The Beatles were one of his favorites too. "Yes, well, it just proves how superior my music is to yours."

"Huh? I wasn't saying that at all. After all, it was my people who invented Rock 'n' Roll in the first place." Alfred noticed Arthur's crestfallen expression. "The Beatles are one of the best though! And they gave me this epiphany!"

Arthur sighed, though Alfred's comment did cheer him back up a bit. "Now, will you tell me what this 'epiphany' is or are you just going to keep dancing around it, you git?"

"Okay, Okay. Here it is: The Beatles…" Alfred paused dramatically, as if hearing a drum roll. "Work with everything!"

"Huh?" Arthur had no idea what this was supposed to mean. He sighed and turned back to his paperwork. "Well, whatever you say…"

"No, Artie! You don't get it!" Alfred slammed his hand down on the desk to emphasize his statement. The desk then cracked and split in half, papers flying everywhere. "Oops. Sorry, Artie."

"It's fine." Arthur rubbed his head to stop his oncoming headache, and pulled out his wand. "Reparo." The desk repaired itself, and he bent down to retrieve his papers. Alfred helped him pick them back up and set them down on desk.

"Anyway, that's not what I meant, Artie." Alfred looked at him with an almost serious expression. "What I meant is that Beatles music can apply so much to actual life. Especially _All You Need Is Love_."

"Why that song?" Arthur looked up at Alfred from where he was putting the last of the paperwork on the desk.

Alfred smiled and pulled Arthur into a hug. "Because 'love is all you need.'" Arthur felt a blush rush across his face. "As long as I've got you, I can take on anyone, even a drunk Ivan."

"D-don't think that flattery will stop me from being mad about the desk, you git!" Arthur's blush deepened as Alfred proceeded to nuzzle into his neck.

"I won't. Besides, I may be a git but I'm _your_ git." Alfred's smile grew wider, if that was even possible.

"Well, I don't think that the Beatles can apply to everything." Arthur said.

"What?" Alfred's head snapped up. "How can you not see it, Artie?"

"My name is not Artie." He deadpanned. He turned back to his paperwork. However, Alfred grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around, and kissed him right on the lips.

After a few seconds, Alfred pulled back. "Fine, then I'll prove it to you." A mischievous glint came into his sparkling, blue eyes.

"What?" Arthur, in the fog of having been kissed, had forgotten completely about what they had been talking about.

"Every time that the Beatles can apply to our life, I'll point it out to you and show you that the Beatles can work with everything." Alfred smiled.

"Right, I'm sure you can." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Have some more faith in your band, Artie." Alfred said, and then kissed Arthur again. "So, first things first."

"What's first?" Arthur asked, though he did have an inkling of where this was going.

"Well," Alfred turned his iPod Touch onto the song that he had been singing. "'All you need is love,' right Artie?"


	2. Can't Buy Me Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Money ruins everything. Especially when Congress is debating about it.

Alfred felt like continuously slamming his head against his desk. As he had to so often, he suppressed the urge to run into Congress and slam some heads together until the Republicans and Democrats got the message to suck things up and work together. _Seriously, how old are they supposed to be? Yet they act like freaking 5 year olds._ He sighed.

It seemed that most of his problems at the moment stemmed from money. Yao was bugging him about his debt, the entire country was freaking out about the debt, and Congress couldn't stop arguing about the budget so now everything was just going to crap. He groaned.

He looked up at his clock on the wall. It was already past 8. _Might as well go home…_ Alfred gathered up the mounds of paperwork that he would undoubtedly be working on until after midnight. But still, it was for his people, so at least he would suck it up and do his job.

Alfred drove back to his house and noticed a car already parked outside. Immediately, his entire mood brightened. He quickly parked and ran inside. "Iggy!"

Arthur looked up from his embroidery as he sat in an armchair in Alfred's living room. He looked at the clock. "It's fairly late. What were you doing at the office at this hour?"

Alfred ignored his question. Instead, he threw down his briefcase and hugged his boyfriend tightly. "Iggy! It's so good to see you!"

Arthur blushed. "Yes, it's good to see you too, you git. But, seriously, what took you so long?"

"Eh… Just stuff." He gave Arthur a quick kiss and went towards the kitchen.

"But you just got home! Let me cook." Arthur tried to insist.

Alfred looked him right in the eye. "Sorry, I'm not prepared to die just yet, Iggy." He deadpanned.

Arthur pouted. "My name is Arthur, not Iggy." He mumbled.

Alfred gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, even if you can't cook."

Arthur blushed and pouted at the same time. "You used to love my cooking."

"That was before you left me alone and I found out what cooking really was." Alfred joked as he quickly made some scrambled eggs and toast.

They ate quickly and Alfred turned on the TV while they cuddled on the couch.

"So, are you going tell me what's wrong?" Arthur finally asked.

Alfred sighed. "Y'know, I really hate money sometime."

"Money?"

"Yeah, I mean, everyone is totally freaking out about it. Yao keeps on bugging me about the debt. Congress won't get along enough to solve anything about money or otherwise." Alfred pouted just about it. "But it's not like it's all that."

"Yeah. It's not that wonderful." Arthur made sure not to look Alfred in the eye.

"Uh-huh. Like I really believe that from you, Mr. Pirate." Alfred snorted, knowing full well that Arthur once took great lengths to get treasure and money. _Spain still has a tendency to shout Spanish swear words at Artie about how greedy he is._ Alfred thought.

"Well," Arthur coughed nervously. "I left that behind a long time ago. After all, I'm a gentleman."

"Right." Alfred snickered. Suddenly, he sat up. "Hey, Iggy, you love me even though my country's basically broke now, right?"

Arthur looked at him, aghast. "Of course, I do, you bloody git! Do you really I care about that sort of thing?!"

Alfred smiled. "Then it's alright. And," he leaned in close, "This is totally a Beatles moment."

"Huh?" Arthur was confused for a moment before he remembered the reference. "Oh, you're seriously going through with that?"

"Of course, Artie!" Alfred looked momentarily shocked that Arthur hadn't taken his epiphany seriously. "And see, this is totally an example of what I was talking about." He pulled Arthur close to him. "Haven't you ever heard the song _Can't Buy Me Love_?"

"Of course, I've heard the bloody song! I always listen to my own music!" Arthur quickly said. "But why is this a Beatles moment for that song?"

"Don't' you get it? It doesn't matter if I don't have much money as long as I've got you! Because all of the money in world could not have given you to me, only you could give yourself." It made perfect sense to Alfred at least. He watched with glee as Arthur turned as red as a cherry. _Or as red as one of Spain's tomatoes._ He mused as he kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, I guess you do have a very good point." Arthur admitted. "But are you going to continually bring up the Beatles whenever there's a 'moment' as you put it?" He looked like he wasn't exactly pleased with that prospect.

Alfred raised his eyebrows. "Are you turning down my offer to praise your music and culture?" He asked in mock surprise.

Arthur looked away from him, embarrassed. "No, you can praise me as much as you want."

"Well, I will." Alfred turned towards the TV, glad that that was settled. "Still, please don't ask me for anything expensive, because I really can't afford it."

"I don't really need anything." Arthur said, avoiding Alfred's look by staring at the TV. "After all, that song applies to me, too." He felt a blush come across his face as he admitted it.

Alfred smiled as he wrapped an arm around Arthur. "Yep, this is one thing that money can't bring us." He paused. "And maybe later, I'll show you some other things money can't buy."

Arthur frowned. "I think you can buy that sort of thing."

Alfred tilted his head as he considered the statement. "I guess," he admitted, "but you can't buy the love that I'll put into it."

Arthur smiled. "Well, that's certainly true."

"Yeah…" Alfred sighed as he thought of work the next day. "Now if only I could get Congress to see that the best things in life are the ones you can't buy…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Why does Congress act like a bunch of toddlers? While simultaneously trying to kill a majority of their constituents' livelihoods.


	3. Help!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur needs help to come out of the closet. Literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally based on a suggestion from Nemi Mercer on FF.Net.

"Bollocks." Arthur mumbled under his breath. He wondered how it had all come to this.

He had gone into his craft closet to try to get a down a large embroidery hoop for the next project that he wanted to do. However, it had somehow gotten placed on the top shelf where he couldn't reach.

Personally, he suspected that Alfred had placed it up there as some kind of prank, or to get him to "drop the girly habit for a while and do something that's actually fun," as he had once put it. It was preposterous as embroidery wasn't a hobby for girls, but an ancient and distinguished art. He could almost hear Alfred's retort, "So it's just like you!"

Anyway, Arthur had placed a chair to keep the door open while he was in the closet, but to get his hoop, he moved the chair and stood on it. Just as he was reaching for the hoop, the door to the closet had slammed shut, which had caused Arthur to jump a bit, fall off of the chair, make a stack of yarn balls fall over, and elbow the light switch so the whole room went dark.

Which led to his current predicament. After turning the light back on, picking up the balls of yarn, righting the chair, and finally getting his embroidery hoop, Arthur had turned towards the door and turned the handle, only to find that it was jammed.

So he was stuck in the closet.

If Francis caught wind of this, he'd be the laughing stock of the next World Meeting, especially since it had all happened over an embroidery hoop. Somehow, he needed someone to come and get him out.

"Bollocks." Arthur said again, as he tried to think of someone that could help get him out of this mess. Antonio, Francis, and Gilbert were immediately out as they would only laugh and spread the word. Lovino would laugh with them. He doubted Feliciano even knew what to do with a jammed door. Ludwig would probably make him write a report about the whole thing. Elizabeta was another person who would laugh at him. Roderich was too much of an aristocrat to do anything. What's-his-name, Francis's lover and Alfred's brother, was on the other side of the ocean in the middle of a hockey tournament, so everyone knew better than to get in his way right now. And Alfred…

That was it! This was all probably Alfred's fault anyway, so he might as well be the one to get him out of this mess. And, as Arthur remembered, he was supposed to be having a meeting today at Francis's place so he wasn't too far away.

Arthur got out his cell phone and quickly speed dialed Alfred.

Luckily for him, Alfred picked up after a few seconds.

"Hey, Iggy! I just finished at Francis's house so I was gonna come over and…" Alfred started speaking the moment he accepted the call.

"Just shut up and listen, you git! I need your help!" Arthur cut him off.

"What?! Is someone trying to break into your house? Is he trying to kill you? Don't worry, I'll be there in a second!" Alfred's panicked voice came through the phone and Arthur heard the sound of a lot of horns honking. "Arthur, I hid some pepper spray behind the vase in the hall, so use it to-"

"No one's trying to kill me, you idiot… It's a lot simpler than that…" Arthur suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed about worrying him. After all, considering Alfred's huge hero streak and his overactive imagination, he would immediately come to his aid with guns blazing, ready for a terrorist attack. When he learned the real reason for needing help, he probably would also laugh at him. Although after he was done laughing, he would help Arthur.

Still, Arthur didn't want Alfred to cause an accident on his way to help him, since that would make him feel guilty once everything was over.

"Oh," Alfred replied. Arthur figured that Alfred was now slowing to a more manageable speed. "Then what do you need help with?"

"Well…" Arthur realized what he was going to have to tell him. He felt a blush cross his cheeks. _Oh, Lord, do you hate me?_ "I need you to… to…"

"What, Arthur?"

"I need your help to get out of the closet!" He finally burst out.

There was a moment of silence.

"I thought I already did that." Alfred's voice seemed completely serious, but Arthur could hear the smile that was surely creeping across his face.

"No, I mean, an actual, physical closet, you bloody git!" Arthur fumed.

Alfred laughed. "Yeah, I got it. Don't worry, your hero is almost there!"

"It's not funny." Arthur grumbled.

"Yes, it is. I'm sure years from now you'll see the humor of it, but - Hey!" Alfred suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence.

"What?" Arthur resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Beatles moment!"

"Huh?"

"I'll explain in a moment, since I'm here. Which closet are you in?" Arthur heard the sounds of Alfred parking his vehicle.

"The craft closet." He said. "But what 'Beatles moment' are you talking about?"

"See you soon, Iggy!" And with that Alfred hung up.

Arthur looked at his phone. "My name's not Iggy."

He waited a few moments and then heard a pounding on the door. "Hey, Iggy, you in here?"

"I just said that, you git!" Arthur yelled back at him. "Now, are you going to get me out of here or not?"

"Yeah. Is it alright if I just take off the doorknob and put it back later rather than break down the door?" Arthur heard a clunk from what he assumed was Alfred putting down the toolbox he kept in his car.

"What?! Do you know how old this door is?! And you were just going to break it down?! Of course, you should bloody take off the bloody knob!" Arthur couldn't believe it. Why did Alfred seem to have no appreciation for antiques? _Probably because all of his things are only a few hundred years old at most,_ the logical part of Arthur's brain that wasn't freaking out thought.

"Jeez, that's why I asked!" Arthur sensed that on the other side of the door, Alfred was pouting a bit. Despite the probable pout though, he could hear Alfred getting to work on the door. _I may have been a bit harsh. After all, he is helping me._

"So, what Beatles moment did this situation inspire?" Arthur asked, though he got the feeling he would regret this question.

"Oh, that's easy. It's the song _Help!_ " Alfred said a lot more cheerfully.

"You mean the song where it's admitted that the singer isn't young anymore?" Arthur knew that this would come back to his age.

"Well, yeah, there is that. But there's also the fact that you finally admit when you need help now. You never used to do that. Or you would say that you needed help without directly saying it." Arthur saw the handle jiggling.

"Well, I guess I have gotten used to relying on you." Arthur thought back to his pirate days, as well as when he was the one taking care of Alfred. Still, he winced a bit at the last comment, as it was a reminder of how during the World Wars he hadn't wanted to directly ask for help.

"Of course, that's not the biggest thing to take away from that song." The doorknob slid out of the opening and Alfred began to open the door.

"What is?" Arthur couldn't help but ask.

The door opened to reveal Alfred's smiling face. "It means that whenever you call for help, I'll rescue you!"

Arthur went and hugged him, secure with the fact that that was definitely true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So cute!


	4. Yellow Submarine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Yellow Submarine would solve everything. Or at least lighten the mood.

It was the middle of a World Meeting, and Alfred was incredibly bored.

Sometimes he wondered why they had these meetings when they got nothing done. Still, at least nations were now able to talk with each other to try to resolve issues. It was also nice seeing each other.

Of course, by this point, Alfred felt like he had gone through all of the normal routines. He and Arthur had gotten into a fight. He had proposed an awesome plan for solving global warming (which had ended up being a debate between who would win if Godzilla and Superman fought). He and Ivan had gotten into a friendly fistfight that had destroyed the conference room so they had to switch into the current room (he knew that Elizabeta had made a ton of money by betting that it would result in a draw that was broken up by Ludwig… which it was).

Normally by this point, he would take notes on the presentations while reading a comic book under the table. However, the room had descended into chaos for the third time, and that was just since moving rooms. Seeing as no one was paying attention, he decided to kick back, put in his earbuds, and listen to his iPod Touch on Shuffle.

It was somewhat amusing as some of the battle music from his games matched up exactly with Arthur beating the crap out of Francis for making a move on him. Alfred frowned a bit at that and decided to have a few… words with Francis about that later. Or he would just let Mattie know and let him deal with his lover. He snickered a bit at that thought. _It's always the quiet ones…_

Alfred started watching and matching up various countries with whatever songs that came on. It was a lot more interesting than just reading his comics.

Then a Beatles song came on. Alfred sat up a bit, because he really liked this song, even if the movie with the same title was one of the most crack filled movies he had ever seen.

That was when the song gave him one of his wonderful ideas.

He ripped out his earbuds. "Everyone! I have the most awesome idea ever!"

Everyone ignored him as they continued with their petty arguments. Alfred sighed and drew his gun. He fired a shot into the air to get their attention.

Of course, he instantly had everyone's attention.

"Why the bloody hell do you have a gun?!" Arthur yelled as he stomped over and attempted to take the gun from Alfred's hand.

"Just in case, y'know?" Alfred quickly put his gun back into his holster under his coat. "Anyway, I had an awesome idea!"

"Does it involve a giant robot by any chance?" Ivan asked sarcastically.

Alfred fought back a pout. "No, it doesn't. I just thought that if we did this all of us could get along a lot better."

"Ve~! What is it? Does it involve pasta?" Feliciano asked.

"Nope! And once again, it's all thanks to the Beatles!" Alfred proclaimed.

"Huh?" There was general confusion from most of the nations present, except one.

Arthur did a facepalm. "Oh, Lord, not this again."

"Iggy! Why do you not like this? It totally fits!" Alfred tried to keep the whine out of his voice, but wasn't totally successful.

"What is he talking about, _Angleterre_?" Francis asked, curious.

Arthur sighed and quickly explained Alfred's "epiphany" that he had had a while ago and how he was trying to prove that the Beatles can go with everything.

"That's sounds interesting… Does it really work?" Matthew asked. Kumajiro wriggled a bit in his arms as all the nations turned to stare at him, most of them just realizing his presence.

"Who are you?" A chorus of nations rang out.

Matthew sweat-dropped. "I'm Canada."

Alfred coughed in order to break up the awkwardness. "Anyway, to answer Mattie's question, it totally does work! In fact, the Beatles have given me an idea to help strengthen the relationships between us nations."

"Really?" Ludwig couldn't help but be intrigued. Alfred figured it was because if the nations got along better, the meetings might run a bit more smoothly.

"Yep!" He struck a heroic pose. "We're all gonna live in a yellow submarine!"

This cued massive facepalming.

"Alfred," Arthur started, "that would never work. Just like most plans you present here."

"Opium is right, _aru_." Yao agreed. "How would living on a submarine help? And besides, that was just a drug induced song, but that is normal for Opium, _aru_." Yao and Arthur exchanged glares.

"Jeez, just think about it." Alfred raised a finger to emphasize his point. "On a submarine, we'd be in such close contact with each other that if we didn't get along we'd probably die. So we'd be _forced_ to make peace with each other if we wanted to live."

That was a very valid point, and that fact made all of the nations stop in their mental processes.

"Sure, it probably wouldn't be natural at first, simply pretending to get by," Alfred continued, "but gradually, it'd become a habit and once everything was over, we'd get along a lot better. As the song goes, 'Everyone of us has all he needs.'" He nodded as if agreeing with himself. "In conclusion, we should all live on a yellow submarine."

All of the nations were stunned. It actually was a plan that made sense. It sounded as if it could actually work. This could be –

"Then again, none of our bosses would probably let us do this, so while it's a nice plan, we'll probably never be able to do it." Alfred laughed his "hero" laugh. "Still, it's definitely a Beatles moment, wouldn't you say?"

Everyone stared at the laughing nation. The one time he presents a good idea they can't do it, because, as he said, their bosses would never allow it.

Figures.

The meeting continued with its usual schedule of actual work and chaos until it was time to go home. Since it was at Alfred's place, Arthur was staying at his place that night.

As they entered the house, Alfred brought up the Beatles song once again. "Y'know, that song didn't just make me come up with that awesome idea earlier."

"Really?" Arthur raised his giant eyebrows. "Did it give you another idea of perhaps using drugs to see the yellow submarine?"

"What? You know that I'm against unnecessary drug use, Artie." Alfred frowned. "Actually, it kind of made me think of us."

"What about it made you think of us?" Arthur asked, as he made sure that both of their coats were hung correctly in the closet.

"Well, I love to fly, right?" Alfred asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Of course, your people invented the bloody airplane." Arthur looked at him.

"And my eyes are blue, right?"

"Yes."

"And you love sailing, seeing as you used to be a pirate and everything." There was definitely a smile growing on Alfred's face, and it just grew wider as he watched Arthur become even more confused.

"Well, yes."

"And you have green eyes."

"Alfred, is there a point to this?" Arthur finally asked.

"Well, 'sky of blue' and 'sea of green,'" Alfred slung an arm around his boyfriend. "Seeing as I love the sky and you love the sea, and it matches our eye colors, that part could be talking about us, don't you think?"

Arthur couldn't help but return Alfred's smile. "I guess it could be."

Alfred gave him a hug. "So you could say that the Land of Submarines is wherever we are."

Arthur sighed. "I don't think the other nations would buy that after that talk you gave today."

"Who cares?" Alfred pulled him closer. "After all, I'm fine with just being with you, since that's all I personally need."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Seriously, I think the Beatles were on drugs when they made the Yellow Submarine Movie.


	5. Yesterday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every couple tends to argue and fight. Their fights just tend to be more explosive and then you have to pick up the pieces.

"Why don't you just leave, you bloody moron?!" Arthur screeched at Alfred.

There was a beat of frosty silence.

"If that's what you want, then fine." Alfred said tersely, his tone of voice as cold as ice. He did an about-face like a typical soldier, marched over to the door, grabbed his coat, and swiftly left, slamming the door behind him.

For a few seconds, Arthur just stood there panting. And then the implications of what just happened sunk in.

"Oh, bloody hell…" He groaned as he sank into his couch.

He and Alfred had just had a major argument. Sure, they fought all of time, but not like this. _Well,_ he thinks, _I say "argument" and "fought" but really I was just the one doing all of the talking._ In short, this time, it had been different.

Arthur couldn't even remember what had started the fight. It had probably been something stupid, but suddenly Arthur just snapped. He had been under some pressure lately, and it was times like these when he would snap and rip to pieces the nearest thing. Alfred knew about this and had been the target of Arthur's outbursts many times and since they got together, he would generally solve it with some tender love and care.

This time, Arthur felt like he had gone too far. It had been a blame fest with Arthur bringing up everything that Alfred hated, felt guilty about, or was insecure about. This included the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the dropping of the atomic bomb, his weight, the current economic situation, and a whole lot more. And Alfred had taken it all with a blank expression that Arthur just knew was fake.

Arthur hated it when Alfred faked his expression, and the American did it a lot. He used it to hide how hurt he was or how he really felt about situations. So Arthur really hurt him.

But Alfred had continued to sit there and listen to all of the crap that had come out of his mouth, because he was a hero and would be there for his boyfriend.

Then Arthur had demanded that he leave.

And, being Alfred, if he believed that that was what Arthur really wanted, then he would do whatever it was, even at the cost of his own happiness.

The fact that he had been so stiff when leaving was further proof that Alfred had been really hurt. He had gone into "soldier" mode and was just trying to get by.

Arthur felt incredibly guilty. _Oh, why do I have to mess everything up?_ He asked himself.

Because he felt that this time, he had messed up so bad that things will never go back to how they were. He might have just ruined the best thing in his entire life, something that was even better than raising Alfred when he was little.

"Damn it!" He cursed. Arthur got and peeked out the window, only to see that Alfred's car really was gone. _Idiot's probably half way back to DC by now._ He thought.

_Why is it only at times like this that the git actually listens to me?_ He asked himself. However, he knew the answer to that. Alfred would do anything for the ones he loved, whether it was Arthur or his brother or his close friends, even if it cost him everything. Sometimes Arthur would lie awake at night, worrying if that very nature would one day bring about Alfred's fall.

In order to calm himself down, he decided to make himself a cup of tea. After all, as the personification of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, he thought that tea was the solution to any problem.

As he passed the radio, he decided to turn it on in order to distract himself.

It did the exact opposite.

For playing on the random station that the radio was on was the Beatles song _Yesterday_.

And it totally fit Arthur's current situation.

If Alfred had been there at that moment, Arthur knew he would have jumped up and shouted, "Beatles moment!"

However, Alfred was not here, which is exactly why the moment fit this particular situation.

"Shit…" Arthur mumbled as he made his tea. _But seriously, where did it all go wrong?_ He asked himself. _If I could go back, then I could make sure that this whole thing never happened. But it's not that simple._

_Because no matter how I long for it, that was yesterday._

With his tea finally made, Arthur hung his head and cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I really do like the song Yesterday, even if it is angsty as heck.


	6. I Want to Hold Your Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The angst continues. Even when you're far apart, sometimes you can still feel the most simplest of wishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of Chapter 5. Some protective Canada.

Alfred looked up listlessly from his couch. He could tell that Matthew was hovering, worried, at the doorway, but he ignored him.

Matthew had every right to be. A couple of weeks ago, Arthur and Alfred had a kinda fight. It was kinda a fight because it was basically just Arthur yelling at Alfred, but Alfred had just listened and didn't even object to anything that had been said. It had hurt like hell to hear all of those things, but Alfred had thought that if Arthur got it all out of his system, things could go back to normal.

Then Arthur had told him to leave.

So he had.

If Arthur wanted Alfred to leave, then he would, even if it felt like he was stabbing his heart out of his chest. Turning around and walking out on Arthur, despite the fact that Arthur wanted that, reminded him too much of the Revolution.

Not wanting to go back to his house and having Tony ask questions, Alfred had gone over to Matthew's house. And he had promptly burst into tears. After all, not only had Arthur hurt him in all of his weak points, but also it seemed like Arthur wanted to break up with him. He wasn't sure about the last part, but it seemed like a logical conclusion.

Matthew, being as levelheaded as ever, had quickly taken him inside and listened to what happened. Alfred had then had to convince Matthew that, no, he could not go castrate Arthur with a hockey stick. Alfred wasn't the only one who was overprotective; it's just that Matthew rarely showed it as Alfred could generally take care of himself.

So after his "teenage girl" breakdown, as Alfred had dubbed it, and a whole lot of pancakes, Alfred had gone home, but Matthew decided to come with him.

Now, a couple weeks later, Alfred had not seen or heard anything from Arthur and he seemed seriously depressed. He still went to work and everything, but once he got home he did nothing. Both Tony and Matthew were seriously worried.

Alfred heard the doorbell ring, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Matthew go answer it. He heard a distinctly French voice. _Oh, God, why now?_ He asked himself.

"Ah, _Amerique_! How are you doing?" Francis flounced into the room.

Alfred rolled over so his face was in a pillow. _Well, at least now I can't see him…_

"Ohonhonhon! Trying to hide from me? Well, then I'll just leave and tease _Angleterre_ –" Francis stopped speaking as there was a blur of motion beside his head and a pillow hit the wall next to him so hard that it left a dent. He stared incredulously at the pillow and dent before looking at the thrower.

Alfred glared at Francis. "Touch Arthur and you're a dead man."

Francis gulped at seeing him so serious.

"Besides, you're dating Mattie, so if I hear about you cheating on him, I'll double kill you." Alfred was glad to have someone to vent his bad mood on. One second, he was pining over Arthur, but once Francis mentioned him, it immediately changed to murderous intent to protect his boyfriend and brother.

It occurred to Alfred that that might be exactly what Matthew had intended.

"It was just a joke, Alfred." Francis laughed nervously, though he could feel the glare of the other North American country as well.

"Anyway, Al, now that you've snapped out of your funk, will you talk about this?" Matthew asked.

Alfred let out a little pout. "No. The only one I really want to talk to is Artie, but he obviously doesn't want to talk to me anymore."

Francis was staring at Alfred, but he didn't care. It'd been weeks since he'd seen Arthur.

"I didn't know it was this bad." Francis hissed at Matthew from the side of his mouth.

"Well, maple! I was hoping he would bounce back quickly like normal." Matthew hissed back. "Though given what Arthur said, it's no wonder he's like this."

"What'd he say?"

Alfred wondered if the two knew that he could hear every word they were saying. After all, he hadn't gone deaf.

"He asked him to leave, and this was after he picked Al to pieces." Matthew told Francis.

Francis cursed under his breath. "As Japan would say, our Englishman is normally a _tsundere_ , but this is not within those parameters."

"Wow, you know a big word like parameters. Congratulations." Alfred said sarcastically from the couch. Ignoring their stares, he reached for his iPod. Hopefully, it would provide a distraction from this entire mess.

That's when the song _I Want To Hold Your Hand_ by the Beatles popped up and made everything worse.

The song made Alfred's eyes begin to tear up. Instantly, Matthew rushed over. "Al, what's wrong?"

Alfred looked at his brother. "I want to hold Arthur's hand!" He wailed. "I want to be with him and hug him! We can just sit together or he can read his books while I play video games! I just want to be with him, but what if he doesn't want me anymore?"

"What?" Matthew asked. "What brought this on?" He looked at the screen of Alfred's iPod. "Oh." He said softly. "Beatles moment?"

Alfred sniffed. "Yeah."

Matthew sighed. "Come on, let's get you to bed. It's getting late anyway."

They all got ready for bed, and Francis went into Matthew's room to wait for him.

"Kumahiro, come here." Matthew beckoned to Kumajiro and entered Alfred's room while carrying him.

Alfred lay in bed listening to the song _I Want To Hold Your Hand_ on repeat.

"Alfred?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah?"

"Want Kurijaku to sleep with you tonight?"

"Yeah." Alfred held out his arms and Kumajiro hopped into them. The bear didn't like to see his master's brother upset anymore than his master did.

"Cheer up, Al. Arthur will come around. He does love you, you know." Matthew smiled softly and left to join Francis.

"Yeah, I know." Alfred replied softly, even though Matthew was already gone. "But why can't he tell that I love him too?"

Hugging Kumajiro for comfort, Alfred rolled over and tried to think of ways to be able to hold Arthur's hand again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This chapter makes me want to hug Alfred.


	7. She Loves You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never piss off Canada. Though at least he brings some good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of chapter 5 and 6.

Arthur grumbled under his breath as he made his way to Francis's office. He couldn't believe that the frog had called him over without any explanation. _And I still need to try to contact Alfred._ He thought to himself.

It had been a couple of weeks since he had thrown Alfred out of his house and he felt immensely guilty about it. But every time he went to call him, he would chicken out before he was even finished dialing the phone number.

And this wasn't the sort of thing that could be solved over an email.

Then again, Alfred hadn't tried to contact to him either, but that was most likely because Arthur was the one who was in the wrong.

In the meantime, Arthur could take out his frustrations on the frog.

"What the bloody hell do you want?!" He yelled as he burst into the office. Then he immediately retreated as he took in the scene. "What are you doing at work?" He blushed furiously.

Matthew sighed and got off of Francis's desk where he had been passionately kissing the Frenchman. "We were just kissing, Arthur. It's nothing compared to the stuff I'm sure you've done with Alfred at _your_ office."

" _Oui_ , _Angleterre_. I'm sure you have done the same." Francis agreed with his boyfriend.

The thought of Alfred sobered Arthur a bit. "What we've done is none of your business!" He said it half-heartedly though.

Matthew and Francis shared a glance, and then Matthew turned to glare at Arthur. "Since he is my brother, it is my business." His voice was as cold as a Canadian winter. "And given the current state of things, I think that you have no right to talk to me like that."

Arthur gulped. He remembered that there were reasons that during WW2 the Germans thought that Canadians were the same as boogeymen. And when he and Alfred had gotten together, Matthew had made it very clear what would happen if he broke Alfred's heart.

"May I ask why I had to come here?" Arthur asked politely.

Matthew looked at Arthur carefully. "Since you guys had your 'fight,'" he used quotation marks when he said fight, "I've been staying with Alfred."

Arthur gulped again. This would not be good. "I see."

"I've been debating how exactly this situation should be handled." Matthew continued. "And there was only one thing I could come up with…"

Arthur prepared himself to duck in case a chain saw, hockey stick, or polar bear came his way.

"…is a Beatles moment."

"Huh?" Both Francis and Arthur stared at Matthew as though he had just grown two heads.

"A Beatles moment, _mon amour_?" Francis asked, slightly bemused.

"Well, remember last night?" Matthew turned away from Arthur towards his boyfriend.

"Ah. You mean how _Amerique_ had his own Beatles moment." Francis smiled a bit, realization dawning in his eyes. "So you think that another Beatles moment will fix it?"

"Wait, what Beatles moment and why does the bloody frog know about it?" Arthur demanded.

"Francis stayed with me last night at Al's house. Then we came here this morning. The Beatles moment is none of your concern." Matthew's subzero stare swung back over towards Arthur. "Anyway, do you know how much Alfred loves you?"

"Well, uh, I," Arthur couldn't get a coherent answer out.

"We're talking love at first sight here, Arthur, and it's only grown. So the number of times you've hurt him…" Matthew trailed off, not really wanting to talk about it. "Anyway, you haven't called him, because you're kind of a coward and you're unsure of his feelings."

"I'm not a coward!" Arthur stammered out, but he knew that in this case, it was true. _But still, love at first sight? I never knew that…_

"Yes, you are." Matthew sternly said. He directed his glare for a bit a Francis who was snickering and then returned his gaze to Arthur. "You think you've lost him, but haven't you noticed that he always returns to you."

"Well…"

"Does any of this sound familiar yet?" Matthew asked.

That made Arthur pause. "Familiar?"

Matthew sighed. "Yes, ever heard of the song, _She Loves You_?"

"What? Oh!" Arthur remembered that song.

"Yes, Alfred loves you, so let go of your stupid pride and cowardice and apologize already." Matthew finished. "I'll give you one more week. If you guys don't make up by then," here he let out an almost Russian-like aura, "I will make good on my promises."

"Right." Arthur quickly turned around and started to leave, but he had a question. "Why did I have to come here to Francis's office if it was you who wanted to talk to me?"

"Because to you, crossing into France is a punishment in and of itself." Matthew said coolly.

Without further ado, Arthur left. While he now knew he'd have to call Alfred within a week, he did feel a little better.

_Alfred still loves me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Conclusion to Al and Arthur's fight in the next chapter.


	8. From Me to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, you have to be the bigger person and decide how much you're willing to give.

Alfred prepared himself for this final part in his plan to get back together with Arthur. He knew that this whole incident wasn't really his fault, but he decided to be the bigger person and take the first step.

Like usual.

Anyway, he looked around his hotel room that he had gotten in case this whole thing fell through, but if things went his way then hopefully he would end up staying with Arthur.

Alfred did feel more hopeful than before though. Mattie had come back from his trip to France a couple of days ago looking decidedly smug, giving Alfred the impression that he had had a conversation with Arthur during his trip. Then Matthew had declared that he was going home, collected Kumajiro, and left, telling Alfred to call him once he and Arthur got back together.

Yeah, Matthew had definitely done something to Arthur.

Still, Alfred really hoped that this would work. He looked at the email he had written and was planning to send to Arthur. It read like this:

_Arthur,_

_Hey, long time no see!_

_Um, well, you know how things ended last time we saw each other. Despite what you said, I think I shouldn't have walked out like that._

_See, the thing is: I love you. And I would do anything for you, which is why I did as you asked. Still, I should have seen that with my awesome hero powers that what you said probably wasn't what you wanted._

_In order to convey how I truly feel, I've decided to use the one thing that I've been trying to prove to you: The Beatles._

_I know by now you're probably rolling your eyes, but just stay with me. In particular, I'm talking about the song_ From Me To You _._

_Remember that song? Because for me, it's true when it comes to us._

_I love you and want to be with you. I will do anything for you. So if there is anything you need, please ask._

_Love,_

_Alfred F. Jones_

_United States of America_

Alfred knew that the whole thing was a bit of a risk. After all, what if Arthur said he never wanted to see him except for at meetings for the rest of eternity? Still, it was a risk that Alfred had to take, since love was like war: you take risks and then at the end, you see who took the right risks.

Gathering up all of his heroic courage, Alfred pressed "Send." _Please work._ He silently prayed.

And then he waited.

Half of an hour later, his laptop pinged. Alfred rushed over and clicked on his new email.

He smiled and got his stuff together.

The response read:

_I'm sorry. I've been trying to get up the courage to call you or something, but once again you've proved yourself to be the braver man._

_All I need is you. So please come back._

Not long after, Alfred was ringing the doorbell of a familiar house.

Arthur opened up the door with a surprised look on his face. "Alfred, how did you get here so quickly?"

Alfred smiled and pulled him in for a big hug. "Special delivery from the USA." He leaned down and kissed Arthur.

Later, so that it was night in London and evening over in Canada, Matthew Williams received a text from his brother. He smiled at the contents and gave a knowing look to Francis, who was leaning on the counter as he made dinner.

"What are you smiling at, Mathieu?" Francis asked him.

"Nothing." Matthew slipped his phone back into his pocket. "It's just that all is well in the world."


	9. When I'm Sixty-Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How long will feelings last as people get older?

Arthur couldn't help but feel happy. So far, the entire day had been going his way. He'd managed not to burn his breakfast, he had gotten all of his work done, and the stupid frog had not contacted him once.

Arthur almost felt like skipping down the hall, but he didn't, because it would ruin his image. _Let's leave the skipping to_ _idiots like Feliciano, Antonio, and Alfred, thank you very much._

Still, he couldn't stop the small smile from coming across his face. He got into his car to drive home.

Arthur flicked on the radio. He paused on a station playing the Beatles song, _When I'm Sixty-Four_. He sighed and switched stations.

Arthur had to admit that that song was not his favorite. It made him feel old since he was a lot older than sixty-four. _At least I don't look my_ real _age._ He thought.

Still, whenever he thought of this sort of thing, for some reason he would hear the sound of Alfred calling him an old man, which Alfred generally called him at every World Meeting.

_Do I really act that old?_ He asked himself. Arthur blinked as he approached his house and noticed a car sitting in the driveway. Upon parking, he looked inside the car and noticed that it was set up American style. _Ah, looks like Alfred came for a visit._

Arthur entered his house and noticed the smell of something delicious.

"Welcome back, Artie!" Alfred's head peeked out of the kitchen and gave Arthur a big smile. "Supper's almost ready! I hope you're okay with Italian food."

"Ah, yes. It's fine. Any reason for a visit, Alfred?" Arthur hung up his coat and entered the kitchen to see two pots on the stove and Alfred stirring the one filled with tomato sauce.

"Uh, not really, I just decided to come." Alfred stopped stirring the sauce and opened the lid on the other pot to check the noodles. "Besides, you might kill yourself someday with your own cooking, so, being the hero that I am, I want to make sure that you eat something good."

"My cooking is fine." Arthur narrowed his eyes at him, and decided to get out plates to set the table. "And I don't want to hear about nutrition from you when you eat hamburgers everyday."

"I don't eat them everyday." Alfred noticed the set table. "Oh, thanks, Iggy!"

"My name isn't Iggy."

"Whatever, Artie." Alfred drained the spaghetti noodles and set them on a hot pad, and then he brought over the sauce. After a final trip to get the garlic bread out of the oven, he and Arthur settled down to eat.

Arthur didn't talk much as he was still thinking about the song _When I'm Sixty-Four_ and his age while Alfred talked about what was going on at his house, some movies that he had watched, and the video games he and Kiku had played recently.

"But that's enough of that, and I've given you plenty of chances." Alfred set down his fork and looked Arthur in the eyes. "What's up, Arthur?"

Arthur avoided his gaze. "Nothing."

"It's not nothing." Alfred frowned. "You've been brooding the whole meal, despite the fact you said that things were fine at work."

"Well," Arthur cursed the fact that Alfred was always most observant when he didn't want him to be, "on the way home, I heard the song _When I'm Sixty-Four_ on the radio."

"Are you telling me you had a Beatles moment?" Alfred looked surprised.

"How familiar are you with that song?" Arthur ignored the question.

"Yeah, I know the song, but I don't see why it would bother you." Now Alfred looked confused.

"Well, you are always calling me an old man." Arthur avoided looking at Alfred and viciously stabbed at the spaghetti with his fork.

"Oh, is that what this is about?" Alfred looked surprised again. "Arthur, you sometimes act like an old man with your hobbies and problems with technology but…"

"That's the point! I mean, just think about the age difference between us! It's over a thousand years, Alfred!" Arthur finally got to the heart of the problem.

"So what? Obviously, I like older men." Alfred rolled his eyes and began clearing the table.

"What?" Arthur stared at his boyfriend.

"Well, I like you, and if you're an old man, then I must like older men." He thought for a moment, before he finished putting the food away. "But then again, I just like you, so maybe the whole age thing doesn't really matter."

"Sometimes I don't get why you like me. After all, you certainly don't need me." Arthur grumbled as he moved into the living room to settle down for some evening reading.

"Yes, I do need you." Arthur looked up and was surprised by how serious Alfred looked. "Without you, I am seriously a mess. After all," here Alfred gave a mischievous smile, "every hero needs his damsel in distress."

Arthur spluttered. "I am not a damsel in distress!"

Alfred plopped down on the couch. "Then what do you call the World Wars, if not me, the hero, coming to rescue you?"

Arthur growled. "You took your own bloody time."

"I wanted to intervene sooner both times, but my people couldn't be convinced to help until they were the ones in danger." Alfred picked up the remote control and handed Arthur his book that was lying next to it. "Anyway, we're getting off topic. _When I'm Sixty-Four_ doesn't apply to us for two reasons."

"Really?" Arthur rolled his eyes. _Leave it to the American git to trivialize my worries_.

"Yeah, first off, that song is about a young person worrying about when he gets old. You were already old when we first met." Alfred said this while he turned on the TV and started to flip through the channels. "So it doesn't really apply to us since I was well aware of your age from the start and I still cared about you."

"Well, I guess there is that." Arthur admitted, blushing a bit. _Okay, so he may be relieving my worries a bit._ "So what's the second reason?"

Alfred smiled at Arthur and threw his arm around him, bringing him in for a hug. "You're not the only one over sixty-four, Artie. In terms of age, I'm old too."

Arthur smiled. "Well, you certainly don't act your age."

"And you better not expecting it any time soon." Alfred kissed the top of Arthur's head and turned his attention to the TV to start their quiet evening of companionship.

Arthur hid a smile, snuggled up to Alfred, and cracked open his book to start reading.

It had ended up being a great day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I know ages don't really count with these guys as they're personifications of nations and their physical forms don't seem to age that much once they hit a certain point, but I thought it was an interesting idea.


	10. Hello, Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred and Arthur have always been quite contrary with each other. Still, Alfred doesn't know why they ever have to say goodbye.

Alfred stepped into Arthur's office. "Hello, Iggy!"

Arthur rolled his eyes at Alfred while stepping past him and out of the office. "Sorry, Alfred. I have a meeting, so goodbye."

"What? Can't you skip it? I know that you only go to these things out of duty. You find meetings just as boring as I do!" Alfred pointed out while following his boyfriend down the hall.

"No Alfred." Alfred couldn't see Arthur's face but he knew that he was rolling his eyes again. "Maybe you should stop being so childish."

Alfred pouted a bit at that and sped up so he could walk beside Arthur. "C'mon Artie. Let's just go!" He then frowned. _Why does this seem sort of familiar?_

Arthur sighed and looked up at Alfred. "Look, just go to my house and wait a bit. I'll see you later."

"But I don't want to wait! Can't I just kidnap you or something so you have an excuse for your boss?" Alfred grinned at that idea. _Oh, I could make it so epic! But I don't have any explosives…_

"Why would you kidnap me?" Arthur was looking at Alfred like he had lost his mind. _Then again he often looks at me like that during World Meetings…_ Alfred thought.

"I don't know…" At this, Alfred scooped Arthur into his arms, causing the Brit to give a cute squeak, and ran down the hallways. "But it's a lot more fun than boring meetings! I'm just rescuing you from the meetings!" He laughed his hero laugh all the way out the door. He then put Arthur in the passenger's seat of his car, buckled both of them in, and tore out of the parking like an Italian.

Unseen by Alfred, all of the workers within the offices rolled their eyes at his antics and went back to work. Luckily, Arthur's secretary did place a call to the Prime Minister to inform him of the "rescue." It was late afternoon anyway, so they were all feeling the call of home.

And in any case, they all knew how "special" the relationship between the USA and UK was.

Meanwhile, Arthur was currently cussing Alfred out. "Why the bloody hell did you do that?! You just should have said 'goodbye' and waited at my house. But no, you have to ruin my whole bloody day by making me leave early, you bloody git!"

"You know most people would be happy to leave work early." It was Alfred's turn to roll his eyes. "But speaking of goodbyes…" His eyes lit up. "Ah, that's what I was thinking about earlier!"

"Thinking about what earlier? It didn't seem like you were thinking at all." Arthur huffed and settled back in his seat.

"Well, I would say one thing and you'd say the opposite. Like in the song _Hello, Goodbye_!" Alfred smiled over at the Brit. "The moment I got there and said, 'Hello.' You said, 'Goodbye.' And the rest was vaguely like the song too. Only we talked more."

"I guess." Arthur rolled his eyes. "Still, you didn't have to bloody kidnap me."

"'Rescue' not kidnap, Artie." Alfred smiled. "Anyway, I came this early because I wanted to show you something. So I wouldn't have been able to wait at your place anyway if I wanted to get there in time."

"Really, what sort of thing?" Arthur couldn't help but be curious.

"You'll see!" Alfred laughed.

He drove the car out of the city and skillfully maneuvered the car into a forested park area. The car eventually emerged at the top of a hill overlooking London.

"C'mon!" He exited the car and pulled Arthur out with him.

"Really, what sort of thing are you…" Arthur stopped short and Alfred grinned at his reaction.

From this hill, which was also a clearing within the forest, one could see all of London and it also offered a beautiful view of the sunset, which bathed the entire city in oranges and reds. It was a beautiful sight. Alfred had found it recently when he was wandering around the area outside of London. He had instantly wanted to share it with him, but had not had a good opportunity to do so until now.

"What do you think now? Am I still a git for rescuing you to show you this?" Alfred raised his eyebrows and gave a cheeky grin.

"You're always a git, no matter what." Arthur said this with a soft smile. "But this is a nice place to say goodbye to the Sun, huh?"

"Huh? Why are you saying, 'Goodbye?'" Alfred gave a confused look at Arthur.

"Well, it's the end of the day." Arthur used that patient tone he always used when he thought that Alfred was being stupid.

"But you'll see the Sun tomorrow, right? Goodbye seems so final." Alfred looked at the beautiful sunset, ignoring the fact that Arthur was staring at him. "So, it's more like a 'See you later.'"

Arthur chuckled. "So is that why you never say goodbye?"

Alfred smiled. "Yeah, I'll always want to see you again!"

Arthur's face turned even redder in the fading light as he blushed. "Yeah, me, too."

Alfred put an arm around Arthur and pulled him close. _Yeah, I'll always say 'Hello' but I'll never say 'Goodbye.' That way there's always the hope of seeing you again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: While listening to this song, I had a vision of Alfred kidnapping Arthur. And so this was the result.


	11. Let It Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world is full of terrible things and trouble. Sometimes there's nothing you can do about it, so let it be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mentions of the Boston Marathon bombing, explosions in West, Texas, and other tragedies.

Arthur hated it when Alfred was depressed. Unfortunately, circumstances seemed hell bent on making him depressed.

Alfred always got depressed on the anniversary of 9/11. This past December, Alfred had been depressed after the Connecticut shootings. And now Alfred was depressed because of the terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon. The explosions in West, Texas didn't help either.

He could understand why all of these things would make Alfred depressed, but he really wished that none of them had happened in the first place. However, as a leading power in the world, Alfred had painted a target on himself and there was nothing Arthur could do about it.

He sighed as he leaned against the bedroom door. Alfred had shut himself inside and had refused to come out ever since he got his wounds treated.

That had been a couple of days ago.

Arthur got out his phone and started looking up current information on the attack. Apparently, there were two culprits behind it and Alfred's boss had declared that the incidence was a terrorist attack and justice would be done.

Normally with that sort of declaration, Alfred would be out and about, plotting on how to get back at his attackers. Still, he stayed in his room.

_This has gone on long enough._ Arthur decided. He knocked on the door. "Alfred, let me in."

No response.

Arthur sighed again and pulled out his lock picks. He knew he shouldn't carry them around, but old habits die hard and they were useful in situations like this.

After quickly picking the lock, Arthur slowly opened the door. The sight before him broke his heart a bit.

He could not really see Alfred, since he was hiding under his blanket like he used to when he was a colony. But now that the door was no longer acting as a barrier, he could hear the muffled sobs that Alfred was trying so desperately to hide. Because he was the supposed to be the strong one, the hero.

It was times like this when Arthur remembered all of the superhero comics and movies that Alfred read and watched. Heroes may sweep in and save the day, but there was always a cost. Heroes went through a lot of pain, both on the battlefield and in their personal lives. Even a person who just Wikipedia'd a superhero's name would soon realize that their favorite superheroes almost always had tragic backstories. It was part of what makes them superheroes. In a way, a superhero's ability to overcome his or her past made them even more admirable.

So of course, if Alfred was the hero, then he had to have his fair share of tragedy.

Arthur quietly made his way towards the bed and crouched down next to it, near the area where Alfred's head was. "Alfred?" He cautiously asked.

"Go away Arthur." Alfred's voice broke in the middle of the sentence as he tried to hide the fact that he was crying.

Arthur frowned at the use of his proper name. _This is bad, not a single Artie or Iggy._ "Alfred…" He slid a hand under the covers until he felt Alfred's hair and then he gently started stroking it like he did when Alfred was little and had a nightmare. "When was the last time you slept or ate? You really need to take care of yourself. After all, your wounds…"

"It's my fault, Arthur!" Alfred cried out. "I'm supposed to be the hero but I can't even protect my own people! Not on 9/11, not now, I – "

Arthur cut him off as he tugged Alfred out of his blanket cocoon while simultaneously sitting down on the bed. He pulled Alfred into tight hug, gently rubbing his hands up and down Alfred's back to try to soothe him. He absently noticed that Alfred hadn't even bothered to take off his glasses, but decided that now was not the time to bring it up. Alfred needed comfort and a shoulder to cry on and that's exactly what he was going to get.

"Heroes aren't perfect." Arthur said as Alfred started to calm down. "Sometimes they can't save the day. Sometimes they need help. Sometimes they just don't want to be a hero so they can take a break. Isn't that why they go to so much trouble to have secret identities?"

Alfred sniffed and Arthur tried not to think about the boogers that were undoubtedly on his clothes. "Yeah, but still…"

"Just do better after this. Learn from what's happened, accept it, and do better." Arthur hugged him tighter, to show that he was there for him, though he was careful of his wounds.

"Okay." Alfred pulled away a bit and Arthur let him. "But Arthur, every time I try to fall asleep, I just can't!"

A certain idea sparked in the back of Arthur's mind, based off of what he did when Alfred was a colony. "Alfred, close your eyes."

Alfred did so and Arthur took off his glasses and set them on the side table next to him. Then he readjusted his hold so he still held Alfred close but could also gently run his fingers through his hair.

And then Arthur sang.

He decided to sing the Beatles' _Let It Be_. Not only was it appropriate for the situation and could act as a lullaby, but later, when he was in a better mood, Alfred would gleefully point out the 'Beatles moment.'

As Arthur continued to sing, he felt Alfred relax in his arms and pretty soon he heard soft snores coming from his lover.

Still singing, Arthur pulled up the covers around the two of them, wrapped his arms more firmly around Alfred, and eventually drifted off while still singing.

And everything would be all right, because Alfred would come to terms with what happened and let it be. Then he would stand back up and fight like the hero he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: "Let It Be" is my favorite Beatles song. I decided to dedicate it to a chapter regarding American tragedies, and I liked the idea of Arthur singing it as a lullaby.


	12. With a Little Help from My Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life sucks, but friends can help make it better just by being there for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of last chapter.

When Alfred woke up, the first thing he was aware of was the arms wrapped him. As the events of the previous evening started to filter through his brain, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. After all, as the hero he was supposed to never show his weaknesses to anyone.

Very carefully, Alfred slid out of his lover's arms and left the room. He had just spent the last couple of days moping, and Arthur was right that he had to snap out of it. Besides, he was hungry and if he wanted something edible he had to make it himself.

He walked downstairs into the kitchen and started gathering the stuff to make himself a big breakfast. Meanwhile, he pondered what Arthur had said the previous night.

_Well, at least he actually admits I'm a hero… Normally he's shouting about how I'm not the hero… Could that have been part of him being a tsundere or what?_ He paused in his thoughts as the coffee maker beeped, telling him that he could finally have some highly caffeinated goodness.

Alfred poured himself a cup of coffee and then took out his teakettle to start the water for Arthur's tea when he came down.

He couldn't help but remember Arthur's words from the night before about heroes. Then he caught the sight of a blinking light out of the corner of his eye. Alfred looked to see the light on his answering machine blinking. Curious, he walked over and pressed the button to listen to his messages.

The first message played. "Hey, Al. I'm sorry about what happened. Just letting you know that I'm here if you need anything, so call me back okay." Matthew's voice came from the machine.

**Beep!** " _Amerique_! I am sure that _Angleterre_ is already looking after you, but if you feel like having some… edible food, please contact me. Feel better soon!" Francis offered the only thing Alfred would take from him: food.

**Beep!** "Alfred- _san_ , I heard about what happened. Allow me to express my condolences and please let me know if you need anything." Kiku's voice was kind of stiff, bur that could only be expected from the stoic Japanese man.

**Beep!** "Ve~! I heard about what happened and I'm sorry! The next time I see you I'll bring lots of pasta! Pasta makes everything better!" At this point there was the sound of scuffling and Feliciano's voice was replaced.

"Stupid _fratello_! He doesn't need any damn pasta! Hey, American bastard! If you die from something like this, I'll kill you myself!" Despite his harsh words, Lovino was obviously worried too.

**Beep!** "America, please let me know if you need any assistance in recovering from this tragedy." Ludwig's stern demeanor showed in his call. Still, in the distance, Alfred could hear another voice in this message.

"West, don't worry! All he needs is a visit from the awesome me!" The message cut out just as Gilbert launched into his signature laugh.

**Beep!** "You owe me money, _aru_! So hurry up and get better, America! Also, try some of my remedial cures if you need them, _aru_." Yao still seemed to have Alfred's best interests at heart.

**Beep!** "If you do not recover soon, you will not be able to see my big secret, _da_?" Ivan's voice creeped out of the phone.

Here, Alfred stopped the machine even though there were still more messages to be heard. Despite how nations treated him normally, whenever something bad happened, they would all support him however they could. Even people who were once his enemies, like Kiku, Ludwig, and the Italian twins were his friends and allies now.

With this sort of support and what Arthur had said the previous night, it all reminded Alfred of heroes.

"After all, the only thing better than a superhero is a superhero team." Alfred said to himself as he looked at the wall where a picture of the Allied Powers hung. "And back in the day, it was just us kicking butt."

Alfred smiled as he looked at the picture. "Just like the Beatles song, huh?" Because no matter what, he would always get help from his friends and Arthur, like the song _With A Little Help From My Friends_.

Just then the kettle screeched, and he quickly took it off the burner. He was so busy preparing the tea that he didn't notice Arthur entering the kitchen.

"Alfred?" Arthur looked a little worried himself. Alfred knew that considering what had been going on the past few days that was fully justified.

"Morning, Iggy!" He said with a huge smile. "Don't worry about breakfast! I'll make sure that it's something that we can actually eat!"

Arthur tried to scowl at him, but a small smile tugged at his lips. "My name isn't Iggy and I could make a perfectly good breakfast if you just let me!"

Alfred laughed. "Of course you could." As he handed Arthur his tea, he leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "Thanks for the two Beatles moments. I needed that."

As he pulled away, Arthur looked at him, confused. "Two?"

"Yep!" And as he bustled about getting breakfast ready, he found himself humming _With A Little Help From My Friends_.

Behind him, sitting himself at the table, Arthur realized what he was humming and smiled.

His hero was back in action.


	13. A Hard Day's Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur notices that Alfred's been working hard, so he decides to do something to help him relax.

Arthur decided that he wanted to do something for Alfred. After all, Alfred was constantly popping up at his work and coming over to his house to spend the night, but Arthur rarely managed to do the same in return. On top of doing all that, Alfred still did all of his work.

So, Arthur decided to try to do one of his rare "randomly coming over" for Alfred. Alfred had been working hard lately and with the tornadoes in Oklahoma, Arthur figured that he could use some relaxation.

Arthur cautiously opened the door to Alfred's house. Another reason why he usually avoided random visits was that Tony scared the crap out of him. _Seriously, that little wanker has it out for me._

Seeing no sign of the extraterrestrial, Arthur came into the house and immediately went to the kitchen. Once there, he rolled up his sleeves and started cooking.

Over at the White House, Alfred felt a chill go up his spine as he momentarily looked up from the colossal amount of paperwork from the crisis of the day. Shrugging it off, he took another sip of his lifesaving sustenance (read: coffee) and continued working.

Some time later, Arthur was just finishing putting something that looked vaguely edible on the kitchen table. He knew that Alfred would be home soon and he couldn't wait to surprise him with his fantastic dinner. Well, fantastic in his opinion.

Arthur heard Alfred unlocking the front door and went to greet him. "Alfred?"

Alfred looked up from taking his shoes off. "Artie! What's up?"

Arthur frowned as he took in Alfred's appearance. He had bags under his eyes, his skin was losing its tan since he wasn't going outside as much as usual, which was a shame as the weather had been nice the past few days, and, judging by the portable coffee mug in his hands, he was probably only hanging on by drinking the highly-caffeinated beverage.

Still, Alfred seemed to be perking up just from seeing him so it was a good thing he had come over.

Arthur smiled at his lover. "I made dinner."

At this, Alfred seemed to freeze and the blood seemed to disappear from his face. "Really?" His voice sounded strained.

"Yes."

Alfred seemed to stare at Arthur for a second and then he smiled at him. "Okay, let's eat."

Arthur couldn't help being a bit surprised. "You want to eat it?" Alfred always complained about his cooking, so the whole thing was a bit suspicious.

"If you made something, then I'll eat it. Besides, I could eat anything just about now." Alfred laughed and ruffled Arthur's hair as he passed.

He had raised a good point. _Come to think about it, no matter how much he complains, he always eats what I make when I give it to him. Huh._ Arthur couldn't help but smile a bit at that.

The two of them ate supper, and though Arthur didn't find anything wrong with the food, Alfred did seem to have trouble eating some of it. Arthur, of course, had no clue why, but he did notice how tired Alfred was.

"Alfred, is everything alright at work? You seem exhausted." He asked as he put the dishes in the dishwasher.

"Oh, it's nothing I can't handle." Alfred tried to hide a yawn but it was really obvious to Arthur. "Just the same old, same old."

Arthur frowned at him. He really hated when Alfred blew off this sort of stuff. "Well, you haven't been working nonstop again and living off of coffee to get through the day, have you?"

"What? Why would I do that?" Alfred looked at him with an innocent expression, but his eyes were saying, "Yes, I am doing everything you just said."

Arthur sighed. "Really, Alfred. You need to take care of yourself better. What if you were to collapse or something?" The dishes done, they moved into the living room where it was more comfortable.

"I'm the hero! I'll be fine." Alfred sat on the couch and pulled Arthur down next to him.

Arthur tried not to roll his eyes at that statement and failed. "But still…"

"Besides," Alfred said as he snuggled up to Arthur's side, "have you ever heard the song _A Hard Day's Night_?"

"By the Beatles? Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" Arthur frowned, but just ran his fingers through Alfred's hair as he was hugged like a giant teddy bear.

"Well, like in the song, even if I'm exhausted, the moment I see you I feel fine." Alfred smiled up at him and Arthur could feel a blush going across his cheeks. "It's sweet of you to do this sort thing for me, even if your cooking sucks."

"My cooking is fine, you git!" Arthur retorted. Secretly, he felt happy that Alfred was happy by these little gestures, even if it was followed by an insult.

"Whatever, just don't be surprised if Tony uses the leftovers in his experiments on radioactive material." Alfred voice got softer and his eyes started to drift downwards.

"What?" Arthur's eyes widened.

"Night, Artie. Love you." Alfred said softly as he fell asleep on Arthur's lap.

Arthur smiled at him. "I love you too, git."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Just a little fluff as the last two chapters were kinda serious.


	14. Octopus's Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred really should have known better than to bring Arthur onto a boat.

Alfred wondered why the hell he was on a boat.

Boats and Alfred had never really gotten along. He was fine with a small jaunt out onto an ocean or lake, but he never really felt the need to go on a long-term ride on a boat. Or ship. Whatever you wanted to call it.

Planes, since his people had invented them, were always more his speed. He had always wanted to fly ever since he was small. He loved flying; the sky was his domain.

So seriously, what the hell was he doing on a boat?

As a meme from a few years ago went through his head from that thought ("I'm on a boat!"), he heard an evil laugh coming from Arthur. _Oh yeah, that's why_.

Alfred had found an ad for a "Pirate Experience Tour." According to the website associated with it, the tour took the passengers on a real life pirate ship and sailed them around for a day to give tourists the "real pirate experience." It wasn't really very pirate like except for the fact it was a real pirate ship, but, of course, Alfred had immediately thought of Arthur, his boyfriend and ex-pirate.

So now he was stuck on a boat with Arthur slipping into "pirate" mode.

Alfred sighed and got out his iPod, hoping that maybe if he acted like he didn't know who Arthur was, people wouldn't associate them. _Seriously, and Artie's always saying that_ I'm _the embarrassing one._ He pointedly ignored Arthur with one leg on the railing, acting like he was everyone's boss.

So Alfred just sat back and watched the waves, humming along with the song that was playing. He really tried not to pay attention to what Arthur was doing to embarrass them both and he figured it was better that way.

Right until one of the workers dumped Arthur right beside him.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are, you bilge rat? I'll throw you overboard faster than you can - !" Arthur was raving, similar to the way he did when he was drunk. Alfred quickly wrapped his arms around his partner to make sure he didn't actually throw anyone over.

"Please try to not let your companion get too carried away, sir. This may be a piratical experience, but he's disturbing the other passengers." The worker gave them both a stern look, and then continued on his way.

Alfred gave him a sheepish look, and then turned back to his crazy pirate boyfriend.

"Iggy, you have to behave or they'll throw _us_ overboard. Jeez, and you complain about my behavior." Alfred rolled his eyes as Arthur came aware of himself and blushed bright red.

"Don't call me, Iggy!" He hissed, embarrassed by the way he had been behaving.

"Yeah, yeah." Alfred went back to listening to his iPod until the song he was listening to made him pause. "Hey, Artie, you sailed all over the world, right?"

"Yes." Arthur gave a proud smile.

"Do octopi really have gardens?"

It was Arthur's turn to stare at his boyfriend. "Why the bloody hell would an octopus have a bloody garden?"

"It's in the song. You know, _Octopus's Garden_. See, with all this ocean and stuff around us, it totally is the perfect time to listen to this song." Alfred quickly justified his actions.

"Uh, I guess." Arthur was giving Alfred the look that said, "Oh my God, you are mental."

Like the man who had just been playing pirate had any right to talk.

"You know, I'm fairly sure that was one of the songs they wrote while drugged." Arthur continued. "Octopi don't have gardens."

"I see," Alfred said, a bit disappointed. "But that would be something totally cool to see! Although," he paused, "I guess the premise of the song still stands."

"What premise?"

Alfred grinned and pulled Arthur close to him. "Having a place where it can just be you and someone else without other nations constantly bothering you."

Arthur returned that grin. "Yes, that would be nice."

As they kissed, they distantly heard the guard that had been looking after Arthur shout, "Hey! I told you not to disturb the other passengers."

Still, they ignored the guard. After all, it's not like pirates never did any snogging on their ships.

And this sort of thing actually made Alfred like boats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The only connection between the song and the scene is the fact that they're on the sea, but I really wanted to include this song.


	15. Hey Jude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Francis finds Arthur doing what he usually does on the 4th of July: drinking away his sorrows. He decides to remind Arthur what he gained from losing Alfred as a colony.

Arthur was well on his way to being drunk when Francis found him. Internally, the Frenchman sighed. It had been over 200 years and Arthur and Alfred were together in a way that would never have been possible if things had not changed, but Arthur still could not let go of the Revolutionary War.

It wasn't fair that Alfred's birthday, the day he should be happiest, coincided with the day that Arthur liked to ruin for everyone.

Francis sighed again in his mind as he made his way to his eternal frenemy. _I do not make such a fuss over Mathieu leaving me._ There was a big difference there since Matthew had been handed over to Arthur and Alfred had left of his own accord. _But still,_ Amerique _does not deserve this sort of thing. How can he deal with these antics?_

" _Bonjour, mon ami_!" He greeted Arthur.

"Piss off!" Arthur replied, reaching for another drink.

"Ah, but I was asked by Alfred to come watch over you." Francis winced as he realized he had said the wrong thing.

"Of course!" Arthur pointed an accusing finger at Francis. "Bloody frog! First, he asks you to help him revolt against me! Now, you again team up against me! When will the treachery end?!"

Scratch that. Arthur was not on his way to being drunk. He was drunk.

_Mon dieu._ Francis thought. "We are not conspiring against you, _Angleterre_. Alfred is genuinely worried about you."

"No, he's not." Arthur went into depression mode. "He's having a blast at his bloody party and talking about how he's so bloody _happy_ not being with me!" He looked like he could start crying at any moment.

Francis sighed just as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He brought it out.

_How is he? – AFJ_

Francis quickly replied. _Not good,_ Amerique. _– Francis_

There was a pause. Francis listened to Arthur's incomprehensible mutterings as he waited for a response and he knew there would be one.

The phone vibrated again. _Try a Beatles moment._ That song _works for this situation. – AFJ_

_Which song would that be? – Francis_

_Hey Jude – AFJ_

Francis chuckled. _Hey Jude_ really was appropriate for the situation.

" _Mon ami_ , don't make it seem all bad. Why don't we make this better? After all, Alfred may have left you but he came back. He is obviously happier when you are with him." Francis began with trying to get Arthur out of his stupor.

"Then why did he leave in the first place?" Arthur snapped. "We could have just stayed like that without all of this bloody drama!"

"Are you really afraid to admit that you are wrong about this?" Francis asked incredulously. "Did you want to stay together for all time as brothers?" Francis raised an eyebrow at this and watched as Arthur flinched.

"Well, I guess as brothers we wouldn't really be able to…" Arthur's voice trailed off into grumbles.

" _Exactement_! Which is precisely why _Amerique_ left!"

Arthur looked up curiously. "Is that really the reason? Even back then…"

" _Oui_. Now, take some advice from your Beatles. You've found the one you love, now go get him." Francis firmly said.

"I… I think I will." With that, Arthur got up and started stumbling towards the door.

"I will drive you back." Francis put some money on the bar to pay Arthur's tab and followed Arthur out. At the same time, he pulled out his cell phone and sent Alfred a text that they were on their way.

"You know," Francis started as he sat in the driver's seat, "if you ever feel pain about this you could just talk to _Amerique_. You don't have to take this on alone."

"I suppose you bloody frog. Why are you being so nice?" Arthur leaned his head against the window to try to get himself somewhat sober.

Francis leered. "It's just for today since Alfred asked me. I'll be back to spreading _l'amour_ tomorrow."

There was a pause. "You didn't come up with the idea of using the Beatles, did you." It wasn't a question.

"You really should talk to Alfred." Francis said.

And the rest of the drive was silent, but as Arthur fell asleep to work off his drink, Francis knew that this was probably the last time Arthur would get drunk on the 4th of July.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Happy Birthday, Alfred! For your birthday, I've solved part of Arthur's drinking problem.


	16. Eleanor Rigby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once upon a time, Alfred had been part of the lonely people in the world.

Alfred lay in bed with a Beatles song in his head. After waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to fall back asleep, he had decided to listen to some music on his iPod.

And now the song _Eleanor Rigby_ was playing on his iPod.

He had always liked the song; it was one of those songs that could touch a piece of everyone.

Because everyone, at some point in time, has been lonely.

As much as he liked the song, that train of thought was also one of the reasons why he did not like the song. It made Alfred think of the lonely times, of which there were plenty. He didn't like thinking about those times.

He hated being lonely.

He always avoided thinking about those times. He did so by avoiding his storage closet filled with the memories of his past and by filling his present with work, family, and friends.

But in the middle of the night, listening to _Eleanor Rigby_ , the memories came back to Alfred as if they had only happened yesterday.

In the beginning, as he had first become aware of himself, he had always been lonely. He was all alone in the forests and plains of his land. At first, he had been able to distract himself by exploring every inch of the land that felt as though it was his. He had watched the two different types of people on his land: one with many diverse groups and skin like copper, and the other in colorful clothes and pale skin. The two groups did not seem to get along, but he went between the two and both had felt right to him, but he did truly live with either group.

It was at that time that he encountered Matthew and he instantly knew that they came from the same place, the same mother. Finally, Alfred had someone to be with, but they couldn't be together all of the time. There were still times when he was lonely, but as long as he had his brother, he was okay.

Then Arthur had taken him in, while Francis had taken Matthew. In some ways, that had been even lonelier. Arthur was away a lot, and never stayed long when he was there. Alfred and Matthew weren't allowed to see each other.

Back then, both of these facts frustrated him. He hadn't understood why Arthur wouldn't stay with him or let him travel with him, or why, just because he was under the care of someone else, he couldn't see his brother. In a way, those times had been the loneliest years of his life, because although he knew he was loved (though not in the way he wanted from his "big brother"), Arthur didn't seem to care enough to let him stay by his side. He was always left alone in that big, dark house.

It was no wonder that Alfred grew up so quickly, for multiple reasons.

After the Revolution, his boss had decided to have a policy of isolationism, cutting him off from everyone else. Despite the loneliness he felt, Alfred had done a great job at distracting himself with helping his citizens build, expanding to the western edges of his land, and trying to convince most of his citizens that everyone, even women, immigrants, and slaves, deserved to have freedom and equal rights.

Years passed, wars happened, and he became friends with some other nations. He got to see Matthew a few times every now and then, although it wasn't always under the best circumstances. Then the 1900's came along and with it came World War One.

Despite all of the horror that came with war, Alfred wasn't lonely as he worked alongside his fellow nations. All too soon, in 1929, he found himself lonely again as his boss decided to go back into isolation to deal with the Great Depression.

After World War Two, the bouts of loneliness lessened as he traveled to other nations, visited his friends, and invited people to his house. Still, there were times when…

"Alfred?"

Alfred was jarred from his thoughts as he felt Arthur's arms wrap around him from his place beside him on the bed. "Artie?" Going back to listening to his iPod, he realized that the music had moved on from _Eleanor Rigby_.

Arthur gave a small, sleepy snort. "Stop thinking and go back to sleep, git." Arthur snuggled in closer.

Alfred gave a small smile, turned off his iPod, slipped off his headphones, and wrapped his arms around Arthur. Closing his eyes, he gave a small sigh and fell asleep in the arms of his lover.

Once upon a time, Alfred had been one of those lonely people the Beatles had sung about. But as long as he knew that he had Arthur, Alfred was never lonely.


	17. Love Me Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How exactly did Arthur and Alfred get together?

It was the meeting of the world's tea lovers. Arthur had made the little group so he could speak to people who actually appreciated the wonderful beverage. There were three regular members and then other nations showed up once in a while. Unfortunately, that sometimes included his siblings. Ugh.

Today, however, it appeared to just be Arthur and the other two regulars, Yao and Kiku. Kiku was taking small sips of his tea while glancing over towards the living room every once in a while where Alfred and Gilbert were having a video game tournament. Yao on the other hand was starting the activity the group was well known for: gossip.

"Can you talk to your boyfriend? He really should start paying back his debt to me, _aru_." Yao munched on one of the rice cakes that Kiku had bought.

"Well, he already has a lot on his plate right now, don't you think?" Arthur glanced towards the living room as Alfred gave a shout of triumph as Gilbert groaned.

"Still, _aru_." Yao finished off his rice cake.

"I think we all have a bit much on our plates." Kiku, always trying to diffuse the situation, stepped in. "I'm sure it can be overlooked for now."

"Hmph." Yao snorted. "Anyway," he looked at Arthur, "it still is taking me some time to get over you defending him all the time, _aru_. A couple of decades ago you would have yelled at him because of all the fuss he causes around the world." He took another sip of his tea.

"Hmm. You're probably right, but now I get a better look from his side of things to see why he causes a fuss." Arthur again glanced again towards the living room and scowled a bit as a thought occurred to him. "I still can't believe that Churchill predicted this with his talk of a 'special relationship.'"

"As long as I have known you both you have always had some sort of… chemistry between you." Kiku tried to tactfully explain the UST that had been present between the two nations.

"Chemistry? That's one way to put it, _aru_! Back during the Allied meetings, we all knew that the fighting was just a front." Yao put his two cents in.

"Really? I never noticed until Alfred actually came out and told me." Arthur gave a confused look at his fellow tea-loving nations. "I mean, what with, well, our history…"

"How did you get together anyway, _aru_?" Yao quickly changed the subject as the topic was going into troubled waters.

" _Hai_. I never heard how it happened, and it sounds so interesting." Not only was this story relevant to Kiku's interests, but he also sneakily brought out his sound recorder since Elizabeta would want to hear this too.

"Well," Arthur started, a slight blush tainting his cheeks, "it all started about a decade ago…"

* * *

 

Everyone was avoiding Alfred today. He was exuding the same aura he had during the Cold War whenever Ivan and he were in the same room. In other words, Alfred was completely pissed off and his normal smile was nowhere to be seen.

No one could blame him. Alfred had announced that his boss intended to start a war despite the fact that he was already involved in one. And given the slightly sarcastic tone to his voice when he made the announcement, Alfred did not approve the reasons his boss had given. Everyone knew that the reasons were complete bull crap, but what could they do? None of them could go against their bosses, not even the United States of America.

Arthur couldn't help but glance at his former charge every now and then. He kept on getting the feeling that Alfred was looking at him, but every time he looked, Alfred was looking elsewhere with an expression that was almost murderous.

The World Meeting ended fairly quickly. Alfred hadn't made his usual idiotic speech and no one wanted to start a fight in case Alfred wanted to jump in. After all, basically Ivan and Matthew were the only ones who could take Alfred on when he fought all out, and most forgot Matthew existed and Ivan was preoccupied with teasing his favorite Asian. So no one wanted to have Alfred fighting.

To his surprise, while gathering his notes from the meeting, Arthur saw Alfred come up to him. "What is it, Alfred?" He asked.

"Uh, can I talk to you?" Compared to earlier, Alfred did not look angry. Instead, he looked somewhat worried about something.

"Alright." Arthur finished up his note gathering and followed Alfred out of the conference room. Once they got outside though, Arthur directed the younger nation towards his car. "We might as well eat while we talk."

"Okay." Alfred answered, still lacking his normal exuberance.

Arthur drove the two towards the nearest decent restaurant (he made the decision since the meeting had been in his country this time). The two slid into a booth inside and ordered. It was at this time that Alfred finally spoke up.

"Arthur, I noticed that you have already decided to support my country in this new… conflict." Alfred bluntly said, a small vein twitching at the fact that his own Congress wouldn't own up to the war that was just about to start. "I wanted to know why."

For himself, Arthur found that he could do nothing but stare, since the use of his real full name meant that Alfred was showing his other side behind his usual facade. This was, one could say, the real Alfred. Serious, intelligent, taking too much of a burden on himself. Not many realized that this was how Alfred was, and Arthur himself had not seen it in a long time, though he had caught glimpses of it back during the World Wars. So obviously, this question meant a lot to Alfred. Still…

"What do you mean 'why'? We're allies, are we not?" Arthur said as the waitress came up and handed him the tea he had ordered.

Alfred took his coffee and looked at Arthur like he was an idiot. It was quite the reverse from their usual interactions. "Just because we're allies doesn't mean you have to jump right after me into a combat situation. Arthur, you're over a thousand years old and have plenty of military experience so I thought you would notice. This whole thing is going to be incredibly messy." He fiddled a bit with his glasses. "I mean, the boss is claiming that it's all for liberating the people and taking away WMDs, but we aren't seeing Iraq exactly jumping up and down wishing for revolution. And we both know that if the people aren't ready for what a revolution brings then forcing it on them is just a giant mess." He frowned into his coffee. "So why are you getting involved?"

Arthur's heart stuttered a bit and for a moment he was tempted to tell him the real reason. _I love you and I don't want you to face a war by yourself._ Because he did love him. He had noticed his feelings during the World Wars, but hadn't ever had the courage to admit it to him. Whenever he tried to admit it or do something nice for him, he ended up making things worse or getting into a fight with him. He always did the opposite of what he felt.

Still, as per usual, he decided to fudge around the reason. "Well, due to our history – "

"God damn it, Arthur!" Alfred slammed his hand against the table, luckily without enough force to break it. Arthur flinched. "You could get hurt in so many ways due to this and I don't want that! After all, I love you and – " Realizing what he was saying, Alfred's eyes went wide and he slapped a hand over his mouth as a blush spread across his face.

Arthur stared at him, slack-jawed. Had he actually heard that? He wasn't having an auditory hallucination, right? The look on Alfred's face told him that he had heard correctly.

"Shit." Alfred recovered first. "I, uh, I better go, but, uh, just think twice about jumping into this whole thing, okay? Good. Gotta – " He was gathering up his stuff so he could bolt. Luckily, that knowledge helped Arthur recover.

"Wait." He grabbed the younger nation's arm. "Why the bloody hell are you leaving? After saying that?"

"Well, it's not like I told you anything you didn't already know. You know I love you, but you don't feel the same, so saying it just makes it awkward. I really should go." Alfred looked confused, and tried to get Arthur's arm off him. Arthur knew that he wasn't really trying as a man who could drag a car around for hours could easily shove another man off of himself.

"What do you mean I already knew?!" Now Arthur was confused too.

"Well, considering that everyone knew about it, I figured it was obvious. Even Peter knew, and he's always out of the loop." Alfred deadpanned.

For a moment, Arthur tried to comprehend that his annoying little brother had known that the nation he had been pining over for decades loved him before he did. And he usual prided himself on his spy-level observation skills. "Well, what made you think that I didn't love you?"

"Uh, you kinda make it obvious about how you hate me. Kiku says I'm wrong and you're just a _tsundere_ , but…" Alfred shrugged.

"Well, I don't, you daft git! I love you too!" And to prove his point, he pulled Alfred into a kiss.

Without either of them noticing, the restaurant burst into applause having been watching the whole scene as only British drama lovers could.

As they pulled away from each, Arthur saw Alfred smile. And it was a real smile.

Thus, the relationship between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, more commonly known as England, became truly special.

* * *

 

"And that's what happened." Arthur concluded as he got up to get himself another cup of tea.

"Hmmm. It is nice to know my instincts were right." Kiku said, mostly to himself.

"Hmmm. It reminds me of one of those Beatles songs that Alfred keeps on playing, _aru_." Yao commented, finishing off yet another snack. Basically the only snacks left were Arthur's scones, but there was no way he was going to even touch those.

"Really? Which one?" Arthur turned around.

"The one about love and staying true, _aru_. Love is even in the title I think."

"Ah, I know the one, Yao- _san_. The one with the singer that asks to be loved and offers to stay true to only the listener." Kiku remember the song a bit better. "After all, even when Alfred- _san_ and Arthur- _san_ were not in a relationship, Alfred- _san_ did not go with anyone else."

"Really?" Arthur asked, now curious, because, sure, he had tried to see if Alfred had been going out with someone whenever they saw each other, but most of the time they hadn't been on the best terms so he really didn't know.

"Are you guys talking about me or something?" Alfred strolled into the kitchen, hoping to snitch some snacks.

"Ah, Alfred- _san_ , can you name the Beatles song we were talking about?" Kiku described what they knew about the song.

"Oh, that sounds like _Love Me Do_." At this point, Alfred noticed that there were only scones left, so he decided to retreat. "Anyway, I should probably head back…"

"Why don't you take some scones for you and Gilbert?" Arthur offered the plate to Alfred. Secretly, Kiku and Yao felt relieved that he was offering them to someone else besides them.

"Uh, I love you, Iggy, but I am not going to eat those chunks of Death." Alfred stated seriously.

"You git! These taste wonderful! And my name is not Iggy!" They launched into another one of their usual fights.

"Even as a couple they constantly fight, _aru_." Yao said as he sat back and sipped his tea.

" _Hai_. But they are quite the inspiration. Those two are the reasons why so many couples in my anime and manga fight constantly. It is a sign of their affection." Kiku said as he too sat back and watched one of his favorite couples banter and fight.

It was just another meeting of the world's tea lovers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This song seemed a good fit for them getting together. Don't you just love accidental confessions?
> 
> (BTW, they got together around 2003.)


	18. We Can Work It Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Alfred have a constant back and forth that goes to their fights, both the casual and the more serious ones. Alfred tries to change the routine with some words of wisdom from the Beatles.

ometimes, Alfred wondered how he and Arthur were able to keep their relationship going.

Sure, they loved each other, but it was these moments when they fought that he really wondered about their relationship.

Kiku always told him that fighting was just one way that they displayed their love for each other, but still…

It made Alfred wonder.

Of course, their current argument had started as a fight over what to watch on TV (yeah, they even fought about little things like that) and it had somehow spiraled into the current fight that involved politics (something he should have known better than to fight about), the current fighting in Afghanistan (seriously, how long was the fighting there going to continue), and how reality TV was ruining the world (both he and Arthur usually agreed on that but for some reason, Arthur was currently arguing for reality TV's sake).

Yet somehow, they always managed to work it out. Part of the problem was that they were both completely stubborn, but Alfred always at least tried to see things from Arthur's point of view. Arthur never tried that and always assumed that he was right. It had been like this since before Alfred had rebelled against him and Arthur's habit had been one reason why the Revolution had even happened. And also the War of 1812. Same sort of problem with both wars.

_Wait a minute_ , Alfred thought while arguing that Arthur's cooking was terrible and no cooking show was ever going to improve it, _working things out, seeing things from another point of view? Isn't that a Beatles song?_ Quickly thinking over the song, aptly named _We Can Work It Out_ , it was obvious that it easily applied to the situation.

And who was Alfred to deny the wisdom of the Beatles?

"Why don't you ever try to see things my way?" Alfred asked, instead of pointing out that his love of hamburgers had nothing to do with Ludwig. Seriously, just because they originated in Hamburg, Germany and he loved eating them didn't mean he had a thing for the guy. This entire argument was ridiculous.

"What?" Arthur blinked, obviously not expecting that. "What in blazes do you mean by that?"

"Well, even back when I was still a colony, you always assume that you're right and disregard other people's opinions. It's probably one reason why you ended up fighting people before I even showed up." Alfred stated his case, keeping his voice calm and level. He crossed his arms to try to emphasize his point. "Didn't your mom ever tell you to try putting yourself in others' shoes? And don't say you didn't have a mother because that's who you supposedly got your scone recipe from."

"What?!" Arthur looked indignant at Alfred's claims. "I'm older than you so obviously – "

"Age doesn't mean you necessarily know better." Alfred pointed out. "Sure, you have more experience about things in general, but that doesn't mean you can apply that experience better or judge situations better. Or even pay attention to what you're saying." He gave a small smile at the different things they had been arguing. "Seriously, have you been paying attention to what you've been saying? You said that reality TV is wonderful and is the way of the future. That's saying that reality TV is better than awesome shows like _Star Trek_ , _Doctor Who_ , _Sherlock_ , _Castle_ , or other awesome fictional shows from both my place and yours."

Arthur looked a bit sheepish and shocked that he could have implied that anything was better than his beloved _Doctor Who_. And he actually seemed to think about what Alfred was saying. Definite progress.

"Now I admit that some reality TV shows are pretty awesome, like _Whodunnit_ was pretty cool and _Dancing With the Stars_ is good to watch, but for the most part?" Alfred snorted at the thought of reality TV in general. "But do you see what I'm trying to do? I'm seeing how you might think that reality TV is good. I'm trying to see from your perspective. You don't generally try that and that's why, well, things like the big fight we had a while ago happen." Alfred looked down at his feet and shifted awkwardly, still not liking to think how he and Arthur had basically broken up during that time. He didn't want to see the Brit's reaction, but he could just sense the awkward in the room. "And you know, as two very differently minded people, I accept that we're gonna fight and everything, and sometimes I even enjoy it, but, with what we were just arguing about? When we get going like that, it snowballs into hurtful territory, and that's when fights like that one happen."

Alfred couldn't remember a time during a fight when he had been able to talk so much. Probably not since the Revolution, but then he had the most to argue for that time. Usually, by this time, Arthur would have begun a rant about he knows better and it would have spiraled into the hurtful arguments that Alfred hated.

"So what do you think we should do?" Arthur sighed and sat down on the couch. "Can you not handle it or what?"

Alfred started. "I can handle it usually, but with that sort of argument do you really want Mattie to find out about it?" He saw his boyfriend suppress a shudder at the thought. "I love you, Arthur." He saw Arthur glance up, surprised at that. _Oh, he probably thought I was breaking up with him or something._ Alfred thought and realized that Arthur didn't realize that it would never be the one to end this relationship. "But," he continued, "life's short, and as much as I love seeing you flustered and some of our fights, I don't think we should waste time with stupid fights where you say things that you don't even believe so… just try to think before you speak?"

"Don't you think I'm a bit old to change my ways?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at this.

"Well, you know what they said: an old dog can learn new tricks." Alfred smiled and sat down next to his boyfriend. As long as Arthur was actually considering what he said, he counted that as a win.

"That's not how the saying goes." The Brit deadpanned, but he said it with a slight smile so Alfred knew it was okay. "What brought this on anyway?"

"Just some good advice from the Beatles." Alfred put an arm around Arthur, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV. "Anyway, let's watch something that's neutral. What do you say?"

Yes, they would still have fights and arguments, but it wouldn't be the kind where one of them says something that he doesn't mean. Besides, as long as they were together, they would work things out somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I've written numerous chapters where they end up putting their foot in their mouth, so it's about time they work on it. They always seem to work things out anyway, but that just makes the song more appropriate.


	19. Here Comes the Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> England is full of rain and the mood is melancholy, but luckily, Arthur has someone to help bring back the Sun.

Arthur was really getting tired of all of the rain. Sure, that seemed to be the default weather here in his capitol, and normally he liked it, but today he was sick of the weeklong rainstorm.

His mood had not been improved by the fact that he had run out of tea. Actually, the lack of tea was most likely the largest factor in his mood, but it really was gloomy out and he was sick of it.

Arthur turned away from the window, as the sight of the downpour was not improving the Englishman's day. He sighed. _Bloody hell. I would kill for a cup of tea._

Out of the blue, a knocking came from the door. Since he wasn't expecting anyone, he couldn't help but wonder who it was as he walked towards the front door; although there were really only two people he knew that would show up at his house for no reason.

"Hey, Artie!" Alfred said cheerfully as he shook the excess rain off of his umbrella. "I got a couple days off so I came to see you!"

Well, at least seeing his lover was one good thing about the day. "That's nice. Come on in." Arthur said. He noticed that Alfred frowned at his greeting.

"You sound a bit down." Alfred said as he kicked off his shoes and took off his signature bomber jacket. "And you didn't even protest me calling you 'Artie.' Are you alright?"

_How American. He can just come right out with what he's thinking._ "I'm fine. It's just that it's been raining for days. And I'm out of tea." No, there was no bitter tone in his voice. Arthur went into the living room and sat on the couch, right next to where a book he was attempting to read sat on the coffee table.

"Okay, since you live off the stuff, I can kinda understand about the leaf water. But the rain?" Alfred glanced out the window at the downpour as he sat next to the Brit. "I thought you loved the rain. You're always saying it makes the world smell clean or something."

"Normally I'm fine with rain. Just not today." Arthur slumped down in his seat, not sitting straight like his normal gentlemanly self would. He could feel Alfred staring at him, but ignored that.

"So you want it to be sunny instead?" Alfred cocked his head to the side a bit as he thought over that.

"It would be nice." Arthur commented, not realizing there was a childish pout on his face that normally would come from the younger nation at his side.

"Y'know, some of the original people at my place, the ones I hung out with before all you Europeans started coming over, have songs and stuff to make it rain. There's probably songs to make it sunny too!" Alfred said, trying to cheer up his boyfriend. "How about we try a song to make the Sun shine?"

Arthur snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. As if singing about it could make it stop raining or even start it in the first place!"

"You believe in magic and fairies yet don't believe in the awesome nature power of one of my peoples? Isn't that a bit hypocritical?" Alfred raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend's disbelief.

"It doesn't seem like you know any songs anyway so what's the point." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Well, maybe any song will do." Alfred's eyes lit up. "And I got just the one!"

"Really?"

Alfred nodded, and then he started to softly sing _Here Comes The Sun_ by the Beatles.

"Oh my Lord, Alfred. You can not be serious." Arthur stared at the American.

Alfred smiled and just sang louder, going into the chorus. As he did the _doo-doo-doo-doo_ 's, he poked Arthur right in his ticklish spot on the side of his body.

Arthur held back a snicker. "Stop it Alfred!" But Alfred just continued his tickle attack while singing until Arthur was almost rolling over in laughter.

That's when Alfred finally stopped singing. "See, I made you smile! Now the day's not so bad, huh!" He grinned.

Arthur struggled to control his breathing as he tried to recover. "Git!"

To his surprise, he saw Alfred cock his head as if listening for something and frown. Then Alfred turned toward the window and gasped, running over to it. "Artie! It stopped raining!"

"What?" Arthur sat up in surprise and went to the window as Alfred dashed out the door. Sure enough, the rain had stopped and the Sun was starting to peek through the clouds. "Sweet Mother of Jesus!" He said to himself. "It actually bloody worked."

He saw that Alfred was outside splashing through the puddles. The younger nation then looked at something in the distance. "Arthur, there's a rainbow! Come and see!"

And as Arthur went outside, despite his lack of tea, he smiled. Because, besides the Sun that had finally come, he had his own little ray of sunshine that had come all the way from America to brighten his day.

So as long as he had Alfred, the Sun would always come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The image of Alfred tickling Arthur to try to get him to smile will always bring a smile to my face. I think it's cute.


	20. Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something has always drawn Alfred to Arthur. He contemplates how it has affected him over the years as he decides to take that final step.

From the first time Alfred saw him, something had attracted him to Arthur. He still didn't know what that something was, but whatever it was, it had always been there and Alfred had been drawn towards the Englishman.

It was one of the many reasons why he had chosen Arthur over Francis. Of course, another reason was that even back then he had wanted to help people and be a hero. And who could resist such a cute damsel in distress? Though Alfred knew that if Arthur ever heard him refer to him as such he would be sleeping on the couch whenever he came over for at least a month. Or worse, Arthur would practice his magic on him.

It hadn't taken Alfred long to realize that he loved the Brit in a non-brotherly way. That's one of the reasons why he wanted to grow up so fast. He wanted to love and protect Arthur. Unfortunately, to do that he had to break Arthur's heart and the purely platonic love that Arthur regarded him with when he actually was around. Then again, at least if something's broken it can be fixed.

During the Revolution and, later, the War of 1812, that special something of Arthur's still drew him in like a moth to a flame. Even though in the latter war Arthur made it very clear that, at least then, there would not be anything between them.

Nothing says rejection and denial like burning down someone's heart and breaking it into pieces.

Yeah, sometimes that still hurt Alfred. Sure, his troops (which disobeyed his orders) burned down York, but that wasn't Matthew's heart. And Matthew and Alfred were actually brothers so the whole York thing wasn't as bad as some make it appear.

The worst hurt came during the Civil War and Arthur sided with the Confederate bastard that was trying to take Alfred's place as America. Then again, most people didn't realize that there had been a personification for the Confederacy, including Arthur. Only Alfred, Matthew, Francis, and, surprisingly, Ivan had known. Still, even then, Alfred loved Arthur.

When Alfred had finally been able to meet Arthur again during the World Wars, all of the previous hurts and pains were forgotten because he could finally do what he had decided on the day he first took Arthur's hand: protect the one he loved. He was the hero who would swoop in and save him no matter what. Even when his leaders were being stupid and delaying entering a war that they were obviously going to be involved with eventually, Alfred would sneak over with Matthew's troops to help however he could.

After the wars, he and Arthur continued to improve their relationship and now Alfred was finally with the man he had waited so long for. That special aura of Arthur's was still as strong as ever, and now Alfred could bask in it.

Sometimes, whenever he and Arthur had their giant fights that would result in Alfred acting like a broken-hearted teenage girl (which he freely admitted to Matthew only), his brother would ask him why he loved the British _tsundere_. Alfred always retorted with asking him why he loved the French pervert.

After all, how can he explain why he loved him? Alfred knew Arthur better than anyone except maybe Francis. He knew his faults as well as his better qualities, and somehow all of those together made him love the Brit more. There was just something about him…

It was like the Beatles' song, _Something_. People love others, and there's not necessarily a rhyme or reason for it, but there's something that makes people fall in love with one another.

Alfred came out of his musings and, with a small smile, looked down at the small ring box in his hand. Like in the song, Alfred loved Arthur and there was something about him that made him not want him to ever leave.

So Alfred decided that he would make sure Arthur never left as he pocketed the box and left the jeweler's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This is a lead-in for the next chapter, so I feel it's okay to be a bit introspective again.


	21. Nowhere Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur started to suspect something was up as the World Meeting ran smoothly for once. He didn't expect this sort of surprise though.

It was time once again for a World Meeting. For some reason that Arthur could not fathom, Alfred seemed unreasonably excited about it. Even Arthur found himself getting bored at these things until fighting inevitably broke out again and again; and Alfred generally had to be dragged out of his bed to get ready for the meeting.

The morning before today's meeting had been unusual though. The American had actually gotten up before Arthur was awake and had made breakfast for both of them. He had also had all of his things ready and was practically bouncing on his feet waiting for the Brit to get ready and out the door. Alfred also could not stop smiling, and it was a genuine smile. But for the life of him, Arthur couldn't figure out what was making his lover so excited and happy.

"Is everything okay?" He asked as he got into the driver's seat in his car. The meeting was at Francis's place, but the two of them were just going to drive from his house since they were so close together.

"What? Of course it is!" Alfred grinned as he slid into the shotgun seat. This caused Arthur to frown a bit more. Alfred always complained when he couldn't drive. Alfred seemed to notice the frown and gave him a puzzled look. "Why are you not driving? Jeez, Artie, you always say that I'm the one that makes us late, and here you are not driving."

"What ever do you mean? I'm driving right now!" Arthur was a bit flustered as he quickly started the car and got onto to road. He didn't notice Alfred's grin return and that the American's hand was nervously touching something in his pocket. But it didn't matter since he didn't notice and Alfred reached over and turned on the radio.

Pretty soon, the World Meeting was in full swing, but Arthur couldn't help but notice that things were strange here too. For the first time that he could remember, the meeting was running smoothly. No fights, no overwhelming gossip, no messing around. The nations just went up with their chosen topics, stated their case or information, held debates and discussions on the topics in a calm and logical manner, and then the process would renew with the next nation going up. Ludwig didn't even have to yell at anyone or get anyone back on track.

And the thing that weirded Arthur out the most was that no one was acting like anything unusual was happening. Everything was a bit too rational, and it made his hidden pirate just want to shake things up and cause a fight with Francis, because seeing as this was his place, it was surely his fault. Despite Arthur's constant complaints that he wished World Meetings would run smoothly like this, it was just too weird and he wanted it to stop. After all, this wasn't the way the world worked.

As the slide show at the front showed that the topic was Global Warming, Arthur felt himself relax a bit. Alfred always did the topic of Global Warming and he always came up with a bunch of baloney to talk about that would surely involve heroes somehow. It was just the thing to get the meeting back to its normal state of chaos.

So Arthur was a bit shocked when Matthew went up to talk about it instead.

"Alfred!" He hissed at the American seated beside him. It was harder to whisper at him than normal considering that everyone was actually paying attention to the presentations for once.

"What?" Blue eyes gazed into Arthur's own as Alfred looked up from his notes and few doodles about the meeting to answer his boyfriend.

"Why aren't you bloody doing Global Warming? You always do it." Arthur said in confusion.

Alfred gave a small smile. "Matthew had some good ideas. I have another topic today. Now pay attention, it's Mattie's turn." Alfred's smile grew bigger as he whispered back. Then he went back to paying attention to his twin's topic.

Arthur stared at Alfred for a moment and then turned back to watch the presentation. Matthew really did have some great ideas to help prevent global warming. _But seriously, what the bloody hell is going on today?_ He asked himself.

The rest of the day continued to run smoothly. Everyone went to lunch on time with neither Feliciano nor Alfred trying to make them all go to lunch early. The afternoon part started right on time with no one coming back from lunch late. During the lunch break, Arthur had tried to get Alfred to see that there was something unusual going on, but Alfred had just given him a look that said that he had no clue what he was talking about.

There were only a few topics left for the day, and Arthur could feel the meeting winding down. The whole day had been odd, but he didn't expect the next topic that popped up on the screen.

After all, the nations had never discussed marriage equality before although several of their countries were working on it.

And Arthur was so busy gaping at the new topic that he almost didn't notice Alfred getting up beside him.

"What?" Arthur stared as Alfred made his way up to the podium. Dimly, he thought that it did make a bit of sense for Alfred to have this topic, as it had been a big deal in the past year at his place. It was just that he never imagined that Alfred would bring it up at a World Meeting.

"Well," Alfred began, straightening some papers on the podium. "As you all may have heard, marriage equality has really been making strides at my place for the last five to ten years, but this year, it really made some progress with that stupid DOMA law being declared unconstitutional. It always was unconstitutional since one of the reasons why people originally came to my place in the first place was so that they could live and love any way they wanted.

"On a personal note, I have always supported marriage equality and equality in all of its forms. After all, can't really be considered the land of the free if I personally think that not everyone has equal rights." He flashed his "hero" grin. "Then again, sometimes our countries don't exactly follow what we ourselves believe and it takes some time for them to catch up to what we know is right." Here, Alfred gave a significant glance at Ivan who, without Arthur's notice, had pulled Yao into his lap. Ivan just raised an eyebrow in return.

"Anyway," Alfred continued, "on a somewhat related note, the other day I was listening to my iPod and the song _Nowhere Man_ by the Beatles came on." Arthur stared at his boyfriend, having no clue what the Beatles had anything to do with this topic. "For those of you who've never heard that song before, let me tell you about it.

"In that song, there's a guy called Nowhere Man. He goes nowhere but he has all of these plans that could make a world of difference. He has all of these plans but he does nothing; he's just waiting for someone to come along and tell him to actually use his plans to help everyone.

"And I was thinking: isn't that what we do sometimes? I mean, we have to wait for our bosses or people to get with the program before we can really do anything that we think could help each other. I mean, back during World War II, I wanted to help end it as soon as it started, but it took Pearl Harbor to convince my boss that we weren't going to be able to stay out of it.

"So I've decided to do something about that. I'm going to be an example and hopefully my people will quickly follow. As a hero, it's the least I can do, so…" Alfred grinned again and left the podium, walking down the table back towards where Arthur was sitting.

And all Arthur could do was stare. _He can't be serious, can he? He is not doing this, right?_ Arthur thought as he felt a blush rise in his cheeks as Alfred came closer and closer. He felt somewhat hopeful while being mortified that this was happening in front of the entire world.

Both his hopes and fears were confirmed as Alfred dropped to one knee right in front of his seat. Alfred looked up at him and Arthur could only see hope and love in his eyes. Pulling a small ring box from his pocket, Alfred asked the one question that Arthur never thought he would ever hear in his existence as a country. "Arthur Kirkland, personification of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, will you marry me?" He opened the box to reveal a ring with a ruby, diamond, and sapphire inset on it, representing the three colors that they both share.

"Of course, I bloody will, you git!" There certainly were not tears in Arthur's eyes as he said this and slipped on the ring, noticing an inscription of _United Always_ on the inside. He was certainly not crying at all as he embraced his crazy American and the world went crazy around the two.

Later he would learn that Alfred had asked the other countries to behave during the meeting so Arthur wouldn't be too annoyed when he popped the question. He would also learn that the nations had all agreed to the idea and it had even caused some nations to question their partners about when they were going to drop a knee.

But for now, Arthur let himself be caught up in happiness at the prospect of being tied to the one he loved and gratefulness that Alfred preferred to actually try his plans unlike Nowhere Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I really wanted to do a proposal scene, and I also wondered what would happen if a World Meeting actually went smoothly. Obviously it's a sign that something's up. Next chapter is the last one.
> 
> Retrospective Note: When I originally wrote this, marriage equality was really starting to get traction and was being talked about a lot. I was thrilled when Marriage Equality was granted across the whole country, and it made something like this actually possible.


	22. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding bells ring, life moves on, and it all comes back to the fact that all you need is love.

The wedding went about as well as could be expected, considering that the entire world was invited.

Alfred and Arthur had decided to keep the whole thing fairly simple, since the nations could only behave themselves so long. They did stray a bit from the "traditional" wedding, because Alfred hadn't been able to convince Arthur to wear a wedding dress ("I'm not a bloody damsel, you git! Why don't you wear it?" "But I'm the hero and I'm the one who proposed!"), but instead they had chosen their own outfits. Arthur had ended up wearing a white tux, while Alfred, who hated tuxedos, opted to wear his military uniform. They had chosen their shared colors of red, white, and blue as the wedding's colors, so Matthew, who was Alfred's Best Man, wore a black suit with a blue tie and accents, while Francis, Arthur's Best Man, wore a black suit that had a red tie and accents.

In some ways, the wedding had reminded Alfred of World Meetings: when the service came to a lull, the nations would get restless and start chatting to each other; at one point, Ludwig had even had to shout at everyone to calm down so the service could continue. He also scolded Arthur's siblings, who showed up sober which was a surprise, when they started heckling Arthur in the middle of the it. Alfred just thanked God that Francis had not kept to form and ruined his and Arthur's special day by being himself (in other words, streaking, groping, being a pervert in general), but he supposed that being the Best Man might have been a good incentive to behave, at least until the reception.

Well, it wasn't really a religious service (again stepping away from "traditional" weddings) in deference to Arthur's continual religious crisis of choosing between Catholic and Protestant; they had a judge presiding over it and held it outdoors. Luckily, the weather was nice which was always a toss-up during autumn in New York.

Alfred and Arthur had written their own vows though, and they were wonderfully sweet and even made Ivan look touched.

They were also completely in character for the two.

"Well, Alfred, I've known you basically your whole life. Looking back, I guess I should have made a guess that things would come to this. After all, you chose me over good food and that bloody frog. From the way you complain about my food that should have been a bloody good indicator that you felt something for me. You… you helped me change for the better. When you left, it was horrible, but as you have said, if you hadn't we never would have gotten to this point. In a way, it gave me a chance to fall for you in a different way as I saw you as a man. From your optimism to the way that you never give up no matter what, I love you, Alfred, and I promise that I always will. I'll look after you because someone has to and I won't let anyone else do it. Even if you ridicule my fairies, which are totally real, I will stick by your side whether through war or depression or peace. So I promise that I'll always be yours, git."

By the end of Arthur's vow, the Brit was blushing something awful, but Alfred couldn't help but think that it made him look even cuter. The American smiled and tightened his hand that was holding Arthur's as they stood before the judge. Then it was his turn.

"Arthur, I've loved you since the first time I saw you. It took me a while to figure out that I loved you in a different way than you loved me. So I left, hoping that someday I could make you see me as I am and maybe return my love. Also, since I had first seen you, I wanted to protect you, so I decided to become a hero that could save you from all the things that hurt you. Even though my leaving hurt you, it was necessary for both of those things. Times were tough, but I always loved you and held onto hope. I even got a chance to save you. The day when I realized that you finally loved me the way I loved you was one of the happiest days of my life and the day you said yes was another one. I'll always be your hero, to protect and cherish you, until forever. Because no matter what happens or changes, my love for you never will."

As Alfred concluded his own vow, he felt a blush cross his own face. After all, he and Arthur did not often bear their souls aloud like this often. Then again, this was a special day.

Alfred turned to Matthew and grabbed the ring he had gotten Arthur. Arthur had chosen to use his engagement ring as his wedding ring. Meanwhile, Arthur got the ring Alfred had chosen from Francis. Alfred had chosen a plain silver band without any jewels on it due to his tendency to punch when he got in fights, but it had the same inscription inside as Arthur's: _United Always_.

They slipped the rings on each other's finger and the world again went crazy as they kissed to seal their wedding vows.

The wedding reception ended up being even more insane than the wedding.

As a wedding gift, the Italian brothers had made the food for the reception, because everyone agreed that Italian pasta was awesome. Francis had made the wedding cake, and luckily it was actually cake-shaped, as Matthew had monitored the baking process.

All too soon, the meal and toasts were over, and the newly-weds decided to do the first dance before they cut the cake.

Alfred grinned as he pulled Arthur onto the dance floor. He had chosen the song for the "bridal" dance as this was usually called, though the rest of the songs were up to Kiku as he was playing the role of DJ.

"So what song did you choose?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at his husband, sensing that Alfred had something up his sleeve.

"I found the perfect Beatles song for a wedding!" Alfred replied, his grin somehow getting wider.

Arthur stared at him, but Alfred ignored it as he placed his hands in the proper dancing positions. "You what?"

The song _Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da_ started up, though it looked like it took a few minutes for Arthur to place the song.

"Oh, any particular reason for this?" Arthur asked as Alfred guided him around the dance floor.

"You mean, besides the reason that it's about two people who meet, get married, and live happily ever after?" Alfred raised an eyebrow at his husband as the Brit blushed at forgetting what actually happened in the song. "Well, _Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da_ also talks about how even with all that happening, life goes on and we gotta live, so I thought it was appropriate. After all, marriage is just a new beginning, right, Artie?" He smiled at his Arthur.

"Yes. I guess." Arthur brow furrowed a bit as Alfred dipped him during the chorus. "Just because we're married doesn't mean you can call me Artie, git. My name is still Arthur."

Alfred laughed. "Yeah, whatever, Artie. You couldn't stop me before we got married, so you can't think that being married will make me stop calling you all of the nicknames you secretly love."

"Idiot." Arthur blushed harder, but he really had nothing to say to that. His _tsundere_ pride prevented him from admitting that Alfred was right.

"Not only that, but this song is talking about the Jones family." Alfred winked at him as he dipped him again. "Since you're a Jones now, I thought it was appropriate."

"I didn't change my name, you bloody moron!" Arthur shouted indignantly. "I'm still a Kirkland!"

"I thought we decided to stick with our names on government stuff, but for everything else we were going with Kirkland-Jones." Alfred twirled Arthur around while giving a small frown, not paying as much attention to the music as before.

"Well, we are." Arthur would probably have shuffled his feet a bit, looking totally cute in Alfred's opinion, but the two of them were still dancing.

"See? Whatever." Alfred was all smiles again. Without either him or his English husband's notice, the song was switching.

Alfred looked up as he realized that a different song was playing although it was still a Beatles song. "Hey, Arthur. Remember when I burst into your office to start the whole Beatles song thing?" He smiled at the memory.

To his surprise, Arthur smiled too. "Of course, git. Now that the song's over, let's go get some cake." Holding Alfred's hand, Arthur proceeded to pull the American over to where the nations were gathered about the cake, ready for it to be cut.

Alfred's mind was somewhere else as he listened once more to the song _All You Need Is Love_. He still counted that as one of the most true songs in the Beatles' arsenal, and as he looked at his hand entwined with the hand of the person he loved the most and at the nations who had put aside their differences to share in the two's happiness, he felt truly grateful that he lived in a world that was capable of such love.

And as long as there was love, life would go on, even if it was difficult sometimes. There would be times of war or fighting, but there would also be times of peace and loving. And the times of love made life worth living.

Although, Alfred hoped that Arthur wouldn't make things too difficult for him on the honeymoon, because he was still planning on shoving that first piece of cake in his face.

The End and The Beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thanks to everyone who read this. This was my first long projects that has an overarching theme connecting the stories. So thank you to everyone who supported me and led me here.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: I freaking love the Beatles so have this story based on Beatles songs. The chapter name matches the song that goes with it. I suggest listening to it while reading.


End file.
